ATLANTA (AP) — No Atlanta Braves player enjoyed seeing Ronald Acuña Jr. hit cleanup for the first time this season more than Michael Harris II, who hit fifth.
Acuña had three hits and a walk and scored three runs, and Harris drove in three runs with two hits, including a two-run homer, in Atlanta's 6-4 win over Colorado on Friday night.
“Having him on base, he's fun to hit behind because there's always a chance he can score from first,” Harris said, referring to Acuña's first run in the second inning. Acuña walked and took off for second base on a stolen base attempt before scoring on a double by Harris to the left-center gap.
Acuña, the 2023 NL MVP, doubled in the fifth and scored on the homer by Harris.
Acuña hit cleanup for the first time since Aug. 7, 2022, at the New York Yankees and the first time in a home game since May 2, 2019, against San Diego. He hit leadoff in 62 games this season and hit second in 19 games.
Braves manager Walt Weiss said he “had a good talk” with Acuña, who was hitting .228, on Thursday. “I just like the look of him in that cleanup spot,” Weiss said, adding the lineup change is “new scenery for him.”
The slumping Acuña was rested in the Braves’ 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night before raising his batting average to .235 with the three hits.
“A day off sometimes can help you,” Acuña said, adding “Baseball is hard, sometimes.”
In addition to the opportunity to clear his mind, Acuña took extra batting practice. He said he made “a couple of adjustments” but said it was no dramatic change to his swing or approach.
“I'm trying to make good contact,” Acuña said. “We'll see what happens tomorrow.”
Weiss said Acuña “played with good energy and his swing, that's where he looked like himself.”
Acuña has had two stints on the injured list this season with left hamstring injuries. He missed almost seven weeks on the second IL stint before returning on July 27.
He showed good speed running the bases, but even better speed when sprinting to foul territory in right field to make a sliding catch of Cole Carrigg's pop fly in the seventh inning.
“I just found out that's one of his best sprint speeds since 2020, which is really good, really good news," Weiss said. “So he's moving well, yeah. He looked like himself.”
It would be no surprise if Acuña hits cleanup again in the second game of the series on Saturday.
“I don’t know what it was, it just felt right to put Ronald in the cleanup spot,” Weiss said. “Sometimes a change of scenery does help some guys.”
