The Atlanta Braves took early leads in both games of a doubleheader against the Miami Marlins thanks to Ronald Acuna Jr., and he joined a unique club in the process.
Acuna became only the fourth player in Major League history to hit a leadoff home run in both contests, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.
Players to hit a leadoff homer in both ends of a doubleheader
Acuna (Today)
Brady Anderson (8/21/99)
Rickey Henderson (7/6/93)
Harry Hopper (5/30/13)— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) August 14, 2018
In Game 1, the rookie outfielder took Pablo Lopez deep on a 3-1 count. Acuna smashed the ball to right-center field for his 16th homer of the season.
💪 Ronnie Baseball 💪 pic.twitter.com/nNo7NcDt2g
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 13, 2018
Acuna finished that outing 2-for-3 with two walks. He scored three times and drove in three runs, helping the Braves cruise past Miami 9-1.
Then in the nightcap, Acuna started the bottom of the first the same way. This time, he launched a bomb to left-center field off of Merandy Gonzalez.
This is the second game we're playing today.
This is the second game @ronaldacunajr24 has leadoff with a dinger today.#ChopOn pic.twitter.com/tyddCKAmr7
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 13, 2018
That blast gave Acuna his 17th homer of the season. Additionally, it was his fourth as the leadoff man.
Acuna has absolutely been on a tear recently. In the last week alone, he’s smashed six balls out of the park — and even brought one back defensively.