Braves' Snitker criticizes Acuna's 'stupid' baserunning mistake
Manager Brian Snitker couldn't hide his frustrations Wednesday after outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was thrown out trying to stretch an RBI double into a triple with one out in the ninth inning while the Atlanta Braves trailed by two runs.
I love me some Ronald Acuna but this absolutely CAN NOT happen. Still 2 with 1 out in the 9th and you get thrown out easily trying for 3rd base when you gain nothing by getting to 3rd instead of just stopping at 2nd and bringing the tying run to the plate. pic.twitter.com/DwlBAxioop
— Ben Verlander (@Verly32) June 17, 2021
The Braves ended up losing to the Boston Red Sox after reigning NL MVP Freddie Freeman struck out, ending the game before he had an opportunity to level the contest with one potential swing.
"You can't do stupid things like that and expect to win games," Snitker said postgame, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. "We have the tying run at the plate in the MVP (Freeman), and you get thrown out by 10 feet. You can't do that and expect to win."
Acuna, who's once again in the MVP conversation himself, admitted he wasn't thinking during the sequence.
"Honestly, I was trying to make an aggressive play," Acuna said. "That was my mentality. But looking back on it now, that was my bad. I made a mistake. I obviously should have given the hitter behind me a chance to drive in a run."
The 23-year-old has been criticized in the past for baserunning blunders, including an incident in the 2019 playoffs where he settled for a long single during an NLDS game because he was admiring a potential home run.