Ronald Acuña Exits Tuesday's Game vs Royals as a Precaution With Hip Issue
By Scott Rogust
The Atlanta Braves, who have already clinched their postseason berth as champions of the NL East, suffered a bit of a scare on Tuesday night.
During their game against the Kansas City Royals, star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. was pulled as a precautionary measure due to what was later described as rightness in his right hip.
OF Ronald Acuña Jr. left tonight's game as a precaution with right hip tightness.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 25, 2019
In a corresponding move, the Braves pinch-hit Acuña for fellow outfielder Billy Hamilton.
The injury appeared to occur in the bottom of the second inning while chasing a ball hit into the outfield and tweaking the hip.
Billy Hamilton will pinch-hit for Ronald Acuña Jr. in the third inning. pic.twitter.com/1ZzzcR5zuJ
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) September 25, 2019
With the postseason beginning next week, an injury to a team's best player is something that will create reason to panic. Acuña is a dark horse contender for the NL MVP, especially with defending champ Christian Yelich done for the season with a fractured knee cap-- and he's threatening for just the fifth 40-40 season in MLB history on top of it all.
Entering Tuesday night, Acuña sports a .280 batting average, .366 on-base percentage, and .518 slugging percentage to go along with 41 home runs, 101 RBI, 127 runs scored, and 37 steals.