The Atlanta Braves, led by Ronald Acuna Jr.’s MVP-type numbers, will go for their eighth straight win and a three-game sweep of the visiting Washington Nationals on Sunday.
The Braves won the first two games, 3-2 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday, and improved to 4-1 against Washington this season. Atlanta has come from behind to win its last six games and is the first National League team to win 40 games.
The pitching matchups for the series finale feature two right-handers — Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (4-0, 2.26 ERA) against Washington’s Trevor Williams (2-4, 4.15).
Acuna went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run on Saturday. During the homestand he is hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three doubles, one homer, five RBIs, three runs and two stolen bases. For the season, Acuna is hitting .333 with 13 homers, 37 RBIs and 28 stolen bases.
“I’m probably playing the best baseball of my big-league career,” Acuna said. “I think I could play better. The most important thing is to stay healthy.”
Acuna had his seven-game hitting streak end on Friday but has reached base in 57 of 64 games this season. He ranks among the top 10 in the major leagues in batting average, steals, total bases, runs, multi-hit games, hits, extra-base hits, doubles, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
The Atlanta lineup has gotten more potent with the offensive turnaround experienced by Marcell Ozuna. He was hitting .073 on April 24 and appeared to be on the verge of being released. But over the last 30 games, he is hitting .306 and has lifted his batting average to .236 with 13 homers and 29 RBIs.
“It lengthens the lineup when you have a presence like Marcell,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “To have that bat in the middle is really good. And what Ronald is doing is crazy.”
Washington manager Dave Martinez said his lineup needs to be more aggressive on good pitches.
“It’s hard to hit, but when you get to 0-2, it’s really hard to hit,” Martinez said.
That hasn’t been a problem for Joey Meneses, who went 2-for-4 on Saturday and has reached base safely in a career-high 17 straight games. Meneses is hitting .364 (24-for-66) during the streak.
Elder will make his 13th start of the season. In his last outing on Tuesday against the New York Mets, he got the victory by pitching six innings and allowing four runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.
Elder has not faced the Nationals this season. He made three starts against Washington a year ago and went 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA. He beat them 8-0 on Sept. 26, 2022, by pitching a complete-game shutout.
Williams is a veteran who will make his 13th start of the season. In his last outing last Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, Williams took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
In eight career games (four starts) against the Braves, Williams is 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA. He made two relief appearances against Atlanta last season and last started against the Braves in 2021.
–Field Level Media