Ronald Acuna Jr. will return from knee surgical procedure that has saved him out for almost a yr when the Atlanta Braves open a three-game sequence in opposition to the visiting San Diego Padres.
“It will be good, he feels prepared and that is nice,” Atlanta supervisor Brian Snitker stated. “It will be nice to get him again within the lineup.”
Acuna tore the his left knee anterior cruciate ligament on Could 26, 2024, and underwent surgical procedure lower than two weeks later.
In six minor league rehab video games this yr, one in Class-A and 5 in Triple-A, Acuna batted .400 (6-for-15) with two house runs and two doubles. Acuna was the 2023 Nationwide League MVP after hitting .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. He led the league in steals, hits (217), on-base share (.416) and OPS (1.012).
The Padres have misplaced six in a row and are coming off a three-game sweep at Toronto. The Braves had been simply swept in a rain-shortened two-game sequence in Washington.
That is the second assembly of the season between the groups. Host San Diego swept Atlanta in a four-game set to open the season, sending the Braves spiraling to an 0-7 begin. The Padres started 7-0.
The Friday pitching matchup options Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (2-3, 3.62 ERA) and San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta (5-2, 2.86).
Sale will get pleasure from six days of relaxation. The final time he labored on greater than 4 days of relaxation, he fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings in opposition to the Cincinnati Reds on Could 6.
Sale has resembled his 2024 Cy Younger Award-winning kind over his previous six appearances, going 2-1 with a 2.02 ERA whereas putting out 48 and strolling 11 over 35 2/3 innings. In his most up-to-date outing on Could 16, Sale labored seven innings, allowed one run and struck out eight in opposition to the Boston Crimson Sox, his former workforce.
“I noticed from the primary inning, you would inform there was just a little one thing particular,” Snitker stated.
Sale has dominated the Padres in his profession, going 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in 5 begins. He confronted San Diego within the season opener and didn’t get a choice after allowing three runs in 5 innings. He fanned seven.
Pivetta bounced again from his worst outing of the season (six runs in four-plus innings in opposition to the Colorado Rockies) to fireplace six robust innings versus the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. He allowed solely two hits and one stroll whereas putting out seven.
Pivetta has made 22 appearances and 18 begins in opposition to the Braves, going 9-5 with a 4.61 ERA. He pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just one hit whereas beating Atlanta 5-0 on March 30.
The Padres have been mired in a hitting stoop. They’ve scored solely 9 runs throughout their shedding streak, with most of these coming in a 7-6, 11-inning loss on Thursday. The Blue Jays shut them out within the first two video games of the sequence.
The exception has been Luis Arraez. He was 2-for-5 within the finale at Toronto, giving him a nine-game hitting streak and elevating his common to .304. It was his fifteenth multi-hit sport of the yr.
“I have never modified something,” Arraez stated. “I’ve saved myself mentally robust, which is necessary, and I am coming right here to play ball and luxuriate in it. This can be a troublesome sport, however like I all the time say, it isn’t inconceivable. We’re working day by day to get higher, and that is what I am doing as of late.”
–Subject Stage Media