Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. exits early with left hamstring tightness

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DENVER (AP) — Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. left Saturday night's game against the Colorado Rockies in the second inning with left hamstring tightness.

With his team holding a 2-0 lead, Acuña was attempting to run out a ground ball before he pulled up about halfway down the base path and grabbed at his left hamstring.

He was examined by team medical personnel before walking gingerly off the field and back to the Atlanta dugout.

He was replaced by Eli White in right field.

Braves manager Walt Weiss said Acuña will get an MRI and the team likely won’t know more about the extent of the injury until later Saturday or Sunday.

“We’ll see the severity of it,” Weiss said. “I didn’t like the way it looked. Ronnie is starting to swing the bat. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully, if he is out, it’ll be short-term.”

Acuña had a leadoff single and scored the Braves’ first run on a two-run homer from Drake Baldwin to left field.

After a torn ACL he suffered in May 2024 limited him to a combined 144 games over the past two seasons, the 28-year-old Acuña has played in all of Atlanta’s 34 games this season.

The five-time All-Star and 2023 National League MVP is batting .252 this season with two home runs, nine RBIs, 17 runs and a team-high seven stolen bases. Over the past six games, he was hitting .381.

If Acuña misses any games, Weiss said the Braves have options to make up for his absence in right field, including Mauricio Dubón, White and Jorge Mateo.

“We’re very versatile, but you never like to be challenged like this, losing, if it happens, one of your best players and most talented players,” Weiss said. “We’ll be OK. We’ll have some moving parts.”

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