NEW YORK — The Braves on Monday arrived at Citi Field in misty conditions.
This, you might think, might prevent Ronald Acuña, who just returned from a torn ACL, from playing. Not so: Manager Brian Snitker said he would still play.
The fact that he even played Monday – a “travel day,” to the Braves (more soon) – is perhaps a sign of their daily approach with a superstar outfielder.
“We’re going to try to do the right thing and common-sense thing with him, and knew that coming in, as the medical people did,” Snitker said. “I’ll just rely on them to let me know what to do.”
Before Acuña’s season debut last week, Snitker said he would not play on travel days. The Braves define these as the day after they travel. Thus, it didn’t seem like Acuña would play in the series opener in Queens.
But the Braves have been clear about something: They will evaluate the outfielder daily. The plan could change based on how he feels.
“He’s come in and checked out every day,” Snitker said. “That’s kind of what we’re going to do is after every game, they’ll check him out, do the strength tests and all that kind of stuff. He’s been great.”
And prior to that series finale versus the Cubs, Snitker said Acuña would not be an everyday outfielder until the 12-month mark after his surgery, which would be in July. If we’ve learned anything so far, it’s that this, too, could change.
“He knew coming in that he wasn’t (going to play every day),” Snitker said. “He was aware of that. They had talked to him about it. We had to be smart.”
Acuña entered Monday 2-for-13 with an RBI and two stolen bases. In Monday’s 5-2 win over the Mets, the outfielder went 1-for-4 and made a nice catch. He hit a ball to the wall but was robbed of an extra-base hit with a great catch from Brandon Nimmo.
Braves excited for big series
The Braves found themselves six games back in the division when they got off the plane Sunday night.
It is only early May, but these four games against the Mets are big.
“I’m kind of glad we’re getting in the division here,” Snitker said. “We’ve been seeing the Mets from afar. We knew they were a really good team. They did really good things here in the offseason. It doesn’t surprise me where they’re at, so I’m kind of glad to play them finally.”
This offseason, the Mets added big names Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. They are playing much better this season.
“They made some really good additions,” Snitker said. “Every time I turn around, they’re signing somebody else.”
Brian Snitker thinks offense will come around
As of Monday, the Braves ranked 19th in baseball with 89 runs scored. They were No. 21 in team batting average (.229) and 10th in on-base plus slugging percentage (.707).
One deeper stat that might tell more of the story: The Braves rank 23rd in the majors with a .215 average with runners in scoring position. They are 25th in the sport with 52 RBIs with men in scoring position.
They simply haven’t gotten the timely hits for which they’ve been known in recent seasons. It has led to some offensive inconsistency.
“They’ve all been through this,” Snitker said. “Every team goes through it at some point, probably more than once. Over the course of the year, you’ve got to fight through these kinds of situations multiple times. It’s never fun, it’s never easy, and you just got to keep fighting it because you just never know when it’s going to turn, and when one guy’s going to get a hit that keeps the line moving, that two-out single to help you score some big runs.”
Doubleheader starting pitching
Snitker on Monday announced Charlie Morton would start the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader, while Kyle Wright will go in the second contest.
“I talked to Charlie first, kind of like he’s the senior member,” Snitker said. “They’re both going to pitch. He wanted to go the first one, so he gets that. Kyle in a few years will be asked the same thing, probably.”
Roster trimmed
The Braves, like every other club, needed to trim their roster from 28 to 26. After Sunday’s loss in Texas, they optioned lefty Kyle Muller and righty William Woods.
The Braves, however, will need a 27th man for Tuesday’s doubleheader. Snitker didn’t reveal who that would be, but Woods is with the Braves in New York.
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