Ronald Acuña Jr. made his return to the Atlanta Braves' lineup Wednesday night at the Colorado Rockies, filling the Braves' designated hitter spot, after missing the club's last three games with right-knee soreness.
Acuña returned from a torn right ACL that he sustained last year, sidelining him for the entire second-half of the season, as well as the Braves' World Series run.
Acuña smoked a 444-foot home run to dead centerfield off Colorado Rockies' starting pitcher Ryan Feltner. In doing so, he aggravated his right knee.
"It's terrible," Acuña told reporters after Wednesday's game. "We're just going to play through it until the season's over."
Acuña will probably see more time in the club's designated hitter role as he nurses his right-knee pain, which would keep the Braves from being able to play both catchers William Contreras and Travis d'Arnaud everyday. Newly-acquired Robbie Grossman would see the bulk of right field action in this case.
Acuña's home run proved to be the safety cushion the Braves needed to secure the win Wednesday night, topping the Rockies 3-2. Acuña's fifth inning homer gave the Braves a 3-0 lead.
Kyle Wright gave the Braves' seven scoreless innings, before turning it over to the team's bullpen. After a scoreless eighth inning from A.J. Minter, Kenley Jansen got himself into trouble in the ninth.
After getting two quick outs, Jansen walked centerfielder Randal Grichuk, then gave up a two-run bomb to right fielder Michael Toglia. Jansen was able to force left fielder Sean Bouchard to ground out, ending the game and giving the Braves their 80th win of the season.
The Braves now stand at 80-51, three games back of the National League East-leading New York Mets. The Mets and the Braves have just one series remaining and it happens to land on the final weekend of the regular season.
The Braves host the Rockies once more Thursday, then open a three-game weekend series at home against the Miami Marlins Friday.
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