Braves All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuna will miss the rest of the season after suffering a complete tear of the ACL in his right knee, the team confirmed late Saturday night.
Acuna had to be helped from the field after chasing a fly ball and landing awkwardly on his right leg during the fifth inning of a 5-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami.
The Braves said Acuna underwent an MRI that showed the tear and he will undergo season-ending surgery.
Acuna hit a double and scored a run Saturday. He has 24 home runs and a .283 average this season.
Braves manager Brian Snitker spoke about Acuna after the game but was not aware of the diagnosis at that time.
“When we got out there, he was hurting pretty good,” Snitker said. “He tried to walk off and obviously as you saw he couldn’t. We’ll just hope for the best once we get all the results back from the tests.”
Acuna went up to try to catch a fly ball at the right-field warning track. He timed the ball wrong, and he came down with his right knee buckling a little. The outfielder immediately went to the ground holding his leg with his face on the dirt.
After some time on the ground receiving medical attention, Acuna got up and started to hobble to the dugout. He made it to near the infield before sitting down in the grass as tears continued to stream down his face.
“You never want to see one of your teammates go up to make a really big play and come up injured,” pitcher Max Fried said. “You could obviously tell he was going through some pain.”
Acuna eventually was carted off the field and went by wheelchair to the Braves’ clubhouse.
“The kid was in pain, and Lord knows what goes on in somebody’s head when they have an injury like that,” Snitker said. “Everybody is concerned about Ron. ... But over the course of the game, you have to turn the page because we still have a game to win.”
