Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is carried to a medical cart after he was injured Saturday night against the Miami Marlins. An MRI revealed that Acuna has a torn ACL in his right knee, which will cause him to miss the rest of the season. Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
MIAMI — The Atlanta Braves will have to adjust to playing without All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. for the remainder of the season.
Acuña tore the ACL in his right knee in the fifth inning of Atlanta’s 5-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday night.
An MRI showed the severity of the injury and the Braves made the announcement after the game, finishing the year for one of the most dynamic players in the majors.
“I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know the severity of it until the doctor notified me later on,” Acuña said on Sunday through an interpreter.
“I have no control over what happened and just have to do my best to come back stronger than ever.”
Atlanta Manager Brian Snitker said the injury is another setback that the team will have to handle.
”(Acuña’s injury) is just another punch in the gut that we have to endure,” Snitker said on Sunday morning before the series finale against the Marlins.
“He’s a young strong guy, he’ll recover great and he’ll continue a Hall of Fame career when he’s done.”
Snitker said that he did have a very good conversation with Acuña shortly after the MRI results were received.
“He was in great spirits,” Snitker said. “He had a lot of rehab and procedural questions; (our talk) was better than I anticipated quite honestly. There’s a lot of unknowns for someone who has never been through something like that.”
No timetable has been set for the surgery.
Acuña landed awkwardly on his right leg after jumping on the warning track in right field trying to catch a drive from Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the fifth inning. He slammed into the outfield wall and crumbled on the warning track, immediately grabbing his right knee while Chisholm sprinted for an inside-the-park homer.
Acuña tried to walk off the field but dropped back to the ground in shallow right field. A trainer tended to him while a cart was retrieved, and concerned teammates gathered quietly around him.
Acuña, who made his big league debut in 2018 and was the National League Rookie of the Year, was hitting .283 with 24 home runs and 52 RBI for the three-time defending NL East champions.
MARINERS: All-Star pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was placed on the injured list.
Manager Scott Servais said he couldn’t comment on Kikuchi’s status “for a number of different reasons,” but that he was “not that concerned with where’s he’s at.”
Kikuchi has been one of the top left-handers in baseball this season, his third since signing with the Mariners and moving over to the major leagues from Japan. He’s 6-4 with a 3.48 ERA and 98 strikeouts.
PADRES: All-Star Yu Darvish went on the 10-day injured list because of left hip inflammation, retroactive to Friday.
He left his start on Thursday night after just three innings, and the Padres said the next day that he wouldn’t pitch in the All-Star game.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
ASTROS 8, YANKEES 7: Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer to cap a startling six-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, getting his jersey yanked off in a frenzied celebration as Houston avoided a series sweep at home.
The Astros had been shut out in the previous two games, highlighted by Gerrit Cole’s three-hitter in a 4-0 win on Saturday night.
But in a series where the teams took turns trolling each other after some lingering ill will over the years, Houston had the final say.
New York led 7-2 after a three-run homer by Gary Sanchez in the eighth inning and was poised for a sweep before the Astros broke loose and handed the Yankees another aching last-inning loss.
BLUE JAYS 3, RAYS 1: Robbie Ray took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and visiting Toronto ended Tampa Bay’s six-game winning streak.
The left-hander’s bid ended with one out in the seventh when Yandy Díaz was awarded a double after a fan reached over the left-field fence and tried to catch his drive. If the ball had not been interfered with, it would have struck the wall and not been catchable by left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Ray (7-4) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out 11 in seven innings. It was his ninth game this season of nine or more strikeouts, tying New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom for most in the majors.
WHITE SOX 7, ORIOLES 5: Adam Engel hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning and Chicago won at Baltimore to complete a season sweep of the Orioles.
Andrew Vaughn homered twice for the White Sox, who have won five in a row and 10 of 13 overall. The White Sox went 7-0 against Baltimore this season.
ATHLETICS 4, RANGERS 1: Matt Olson prepped for the Home Run Derby by hitting two of his team’s four homers, Chris Bassitt allowed one run in seven innings, and Oakland won in Arlington, Texas.
Olson, a first-time All-Star, homered leading off the fourth inning and with one out of the sixth, giving him 23 longballs this season. Jed Lowrie and Sean Murphy hit back-to-back homers in the second inning for the A’s, who won consecutive games for the first time since mid-June and took two of three at Texas.
Bassitt (10-2) gave up four hits, struck out three and walked one to tie for the AL lead in wins.
ANGELS 7, MARINERS 1: David Fletcher had four hits and four RBI to extend his hitting streak to 24 games, and Los Angeles won at Seattle.
TWINS 12, TIGERS 9: Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending three-run homer in the 10th inning, and Minnesota completed a four-game sweep.
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 4: Pablo López set a major league record by striking out the first nine batters to start a game, pitching Miami past visiting Atlanta.
López, 25, broke the mark of eight strikeouts set by Jim Deshaies in 1986 and matched by Jacob deGrom in 2014 and German Marquez in 2018.
PIRATES 6, METS 5: Wilmer Difo’s tiebreaking single in the ninth inning capped Pittsburgh’s biggest comeback of the season, as the Pirates rallied from an early five-run deficit to beat visiting New York.
REDS 3, BREWERS 1: Nick Castellanos hit a tiebreaking two-run single off All-Star closer Josh Hader with two outs in the ninth inning, and Cincinnati won at Milwaukee.
ROCKIES 3, PADRES 1: Pinch-hitter Chris Owings hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, Jon Gray had another strong start and Colorado won at San Diego in Bud Black’s 2,000th career game as a manager.
GIANTS 3, NATIONALS 1: Kevin Gausman worked six-plus innings of one-run ball and Curt Casali hit a three-run homer as San Francisco completed a three-game sweep at home.
San Francisco heads into the All-Star break with the best record in the majors at 57-32, a huge surprise for a team that wasn’t expected to contend in the NL West.
DODGERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 4: Max Muncy slugged a three-run homer in the ninth inning, capped a comeback by Los Angeles against visiting Arizona.
The Dodgers tied the game at 4 with three runs in the eighth.
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