ANAHEIM — The Atlanta Braves had their star player Chris Sale on the mound before the game and reigning MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. in their locker room and dugout. Heady stuff. So it was no surprise when they came away with an 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels, fueled by Marcell Ozuna’s three-run home run in the first inning and another dominant start from Sale.
Sale cemented his status as the favorite for the Cy Young Award by recording 10 strikeouts in six innings, taking the MLB lead in strikeouts and improving to 14-3 with a 2.62 ERA, the best record and second-best ERA among MLB qualifiers. Ozuna hit his 36th home run and raised his National League-best RBI total to 93, moving closer to his second consecutive 40-100 season.
“For me, he’s already something like a Cy Young – I’m predicting it now,” Ozuna said of Sale, who, if the season ended today, would win the NL Pitching Triple Crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts) and probably the Cy Young Award as well.
In terms of the Triple Crown (batting average, home runs, RBIs), Ozuna’s 3-for-3 night raised his average to .307, one point behind NL leader Luis Arráez, and he is two home runs behind NL leader Shohei Ohtani.
While it still seems unlikely that the Braves will have the NL MVP in back-to-back seasons, Sale believes Ozuna is worth considering.
“I know DHs don’t get enough credit for MVP votes or anything like that, but I mean, look at what he did for our team,” Sale said. “It was just incredible. At times he literally carried us on his shoulders and led that lineup and that team to wins that we wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.”
BIG BEAR FOR THREE! 🐻@Delta | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/iWC35eTcjE
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) 18 August 2024
Ozuna and Sale helped the Braves shake off a 3-2 loss Friday in the series opener, in which they hit 2 of 12 runs with runners in scoring position. That’s been a problem for most of the season — their .220 RISP average since May 1 was the fourth-lowest in the major leagues — but on Saturday they hit 5 of 9 in such situations, including home runs by Ozuna and Ramón Laureano, who had a two-run shot in the five-run fifth inning immediately after Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run double.
D’Arnaud left the field in the seventh inning shortly after a pitch struck him on the right wrist. X-rays were negative and he is not expected to miss more than one game, especially since the Braves have Monday off after the series and Sunday’s road game.
Sale, the 35-year-old left-hander who turned back the clock after five injury-plagued seasons with the Boston Red Sox, went 8-0 with a 1.24 ERA in 11 career games (nine starts) against the Angels, the most wins without a loss by a pitcher against them and the best ERA in 60 or more innings pitched against the Angels.
Even before the first pitch on Saturday, the Braves fans who arrived early at Angel Stadium saw another feast for the eyes – Acuña.
Atlanta’s charismatic superstar has been back with the Braves in recent days, at the ballpark and at the swanky team hotel in Dana Point, Calif. He was as happy to see his teammates again as they were to see him again. Acuña was away for nearly two and a half months recovering in Los Angeles after his season-ending knee surgery on June 5.
“I feel good and it’s really nice to be back with the guys,” said Acuña, who is recovering from reconstruction of his left anterior cruciate ligament, which he tore on May 26. He sat in the dugout in Braves gear and was interviewed before the game after hanging out with his teammates. “I missed them. I missed this. So it’s really nice to be back.”
Acuña had a locker with his nameplate in the visitors’ clubhouse. He is not playing and will not until next season, but his presence here meant a lot to his teammates.
“Oh yeah,” said Braves third baseman Austin Riley, a few lockers away from Acuña. “What he means to the locker room and what he means to us on the field and baseball. I know he’s been working hard out here and recovering to do it right. It’s a nice sight for us to see him, and I’m sure it’s a nice little break for him just to be back with us.”
Acuña tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee a few days before the 2021 All-Star break and also spent about two months in Los Angeles recovering from that surgery. Both surgeries were performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who recommends his patients complete the first part of the nearly year-long rehab under the supervision of his staff in LA.
“I’ve been in LA since the surgery; it’s been going really well,” Acuña said. “I feel really good. Obviously, it’s been an up and down season (for the Braves). I just want to encourage fans to keep supporting the team because we’re in that playoff race.”
He will return to Atlanta this season, but Acuña did not know when.
“This is my home,” he said of Atlanta, smiling. “So at some point I will return. I just don’t know when that will be. I’m just going to listen to what the medical staff has to say, what the doctors say – of course, if they come to the decision that it’s time for me to go somewhere, I’ll just do what they say.”
His wife and two young sons were with him in LA and he enjoyed spending so much time with them this summer, a rarity for a major league baseball player.
“It was incredible,” Acuña said. “I feel like it was an experience that helped me mature as a person and as a father. And you know, I think it’s just one of those things where I never would have had the opportunity to spend so much time with them.”
Acuña’s close friend, second baseman Ozzie Albies, made the trip despite being on the 60-day IL with a broken wrist. Snitker was asked how nice it was to see Acuña back in the clubhouse, smiling and with his teammates.
You just like to see it pic.twitter.com/7Pr56cXNEC
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) 18 August 2024
“Just like when we brought Ozzie, it’s great to have the guys here,” Snitker said. “I can’t wait for him to come in here and mess around with everybody and then come out here and play. But I’m sure it’s really good for him to see all the guys because he’s been away for a long time since his surgery and his rehab. I’m sure he’s been looking forward to seeing all the guys.”
Acuña recovered from his previous ACL tear in less than 10 months and was activated from the injured list a little earlier than expected on April 28, 2022, after telling coaches and team officials how good he felt and how much he wanted to play. If he follows a similar rehab plan this time around Opening Day 2024, he would be back.
However, Acuña reiterated something he said shortly before that latest surgery on Saturday – that he would play it smart and wait until doctors told him it was time. Not like in 2022, when he pushed to get back into training but then continued to experience pain throughout the season and was uncomfortable rotating his knee.
He had to take several days off that year and had fluid pumped out of his knee. He had the worst season of his career, with a .266 batting average with 15 home runs and an OPS of .764 in 119 games. But the following year, in 2023, a fully recovered Acuña had not only the best season of his career, but one of the best of any player in history. He batted .337 with 41 home runs, led the majors with 73 stolen bases and an OBP of .416, and led the NL with an OPS of 1.012.
This time around, Acuña wants to avoid the difficulties he went through in 2022 by being more patient and listening in his rehab. He is motivated to come back better than ever and win another MVP award.
“I think the most important thing is just to feel good and right,” he said. “And of course I expect not to have to go through some of the things I experienced in 2022. I think this time will be different. The most important thing is to just wait until the doctor says I’m ready to play and then start.”
He has learned a lot from experience. For example, he can let the medical experts take the lead and let them tell him when the time is right after a major operation.
“I think in 2022, I really wanted to play and I was basically looking for any reason to go out there,” Acuña said. “So I went out there even if I was in pain or didn’t feel good. I think this time I’m really going to try to make sure I’m 100 percent before I push my limits or try to go out there.”
For now, he will be watching the Braves and rooting for them.
“When you see the boys struggling like that, you’re obviously frustrated and want to help,” he said. “But I have complete confidence in this group of boys and I believe they will emerge victorious in the end.”
(Photo by Chris Sale: John Cordes / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
