On Friday in a 9-6 Atlanta Braves win over the Washington Nationals, outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of La Guaira, Venezuela, became the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 60 bases in a season. Then on Wednesday, Acuna Jr. became the first player to hit 40 home runs and steal 70 bases in a season. He accomplished the feat in a 6-5 Atlanta win over the Chicago Cubs.
70th Stolen Base
Acuna Jr. actually had two stolen bases in the contest. The first stolen base in the game (69th of the season) came in the bottom of the eighth inning with one out. Acuna stole second base, and would later score on an Ozzie Albies single to tie the game at three runs apiece. Acuna Jr. would then steal second base again with one out in the 10th inning. In a story of deja vu, Acuna Jr. once again scored on an Albies single. This time it was the game winning run, and gave the Braves, the 6-5 victory.
2023 MLB Statistics
Acuna Jr. is batting .336 with 41 home runs and 104 runs batted in. During 723 plate appearances, 634 at bats and 155 games, he has a Major League leading 146 runs, 213 hits, 70 stolen bases, 378 total bases, and .414 on base percentage.
Fifth in home runs in MLB
Acuna Jr.’s 41 home runs are fifth in Major League Baseball. He is only behind his Braves teammate and first baseman Matt Olson of Atlanta, Georgia (53 home runs), New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso of Tampa, Florida (46 home runs), Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber of Middletown, Ohio (45 home runs), and Los Angeles Angels designated hitter and starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani of Oshu, Japan (44 home runs). It is interesting that Schwarber has 45 home runs when he has a terrible batting average of .196. Ohtani meanwhile still leads the American League in home runs even though he has not played since September 3.
Braves Continue to Soar
With the win, Atlanta improves to a record of 102 wins and 56 losses. They have a 13 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.
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