{"id":680253,"date":"2026-04-21T10:24:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/680253\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T10:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T10:24:49","slug":"atlanta-braves-receive-hopeful-ronald-acuna-jr-injury-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/680253\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta Braves Receive Hopeful Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. Injury Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Ronald\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. was hit by a pitch during a game against the Washington Nationals, prompting an injury update following his early exit.<\/p>\n

Ronald Acu\u00f1a<\/a> Jr. exited after being hit twice, but the Atlanta Braves<\/a> delivered a hopeful injury update on their superstar Tuesday. Acu\u00f1a Jr. left Monday night\u2019s game against the Washington Nationals<\/a> after being struck by a pitch for the second time in the same game, but the Braves came away with a collective exhale when X-ray results on the five-time All-Star came back clean.<\/p>\n

The X-ray images on Acu\u00f1a\u2019s left hand proved negative, Braves manager Walt Weiss confirmed after Atlanta\u2019s 9-4 victory at Nationals Park<\/a>. The 2023 unanimous NL MVP is listed as day to day.<\/p>\n

\u201cRonnie is OK,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cX-rays were negative. He\u2019s going to be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ronald<\/p>\n

GettyWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 April 20, 2026: Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after being hit by a pitch in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.<\/p>\n

Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. Hand Injury: What Happened Against Nationals<\/p>\n

Nationals starter Jake Irvin<\/a> hit Acu\u00f1a with a 92 mph fastball in the fourth inning, then caught him again with a 91 mph fastball in the sixth, this time on the left hand. Acu\u00f1a yelled in pain after the second plunking, as reported by ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He was in the on-deck circle when the sixth inning ended but did not return to the field. Eli White<\/a> replaced him in right field for the bottom half of the inning. Two innings later, the Braves announced the negative X-ray results.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was swelling up pretty good, so we just got him out of there,\u201d Weiss said, per MLB<\/a>.com\u2019s Mark Bowman.<\/p>\n

Weiss added there were no plans for an MRI exam, a detail that seems especially important in Atlanta. Austin Riley\u2019s hand X-rays came back negative in August 2024 as well. An MRI the following day told a different story, revealing a season-ending fracture. The Braves lived through that sequence once. The fact that Weiss ruled out a follow-up scan is the most reassuring thing he said all night.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to get hit in the hand or the elbow,\u201d first baseman Matt Olson<\/a> said. \u201cYou take something in the back or the leg, it\u2019s easy to shake off. But there are a lot of little bones in the hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou worry about getting hit in the hand, especially with the bat there,\u201d starter Bryce Elder<\/a> added. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take much to fracture something there. So, hearing it was negative was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Atlanta Braves Win Sixth Straight Despite Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. Scare<\/p>\n

The injury scare did nothing to slow down the NL East-leading Braves, who improved to 16-7 on the season and tied the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> for the best record in baseball. Atlanta has now won six straight games.<\/p>\n

Olson carried the offense, launching a game-tying homer<\/a> off Irvin in the fourth and finishing with three RBIs. He now has six home runs on the season and stands alongside Giancarlo Stanton<\/a> as the only players to hit 13 or more home runs within their first 30 games at Nationals Park, per Bowman\u2019s report.<\/p>\n

Reigning NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin<\/a> added a two-run double in Atlanta\u2019s decisive five-run sixth inning, and Michael Harris<\/a> II went 11-for-26 with three homers over his last eight games entering Monday.<\/p>\n

Acu\u00f1a himself had been finding his form heading into the incident. He posted a .290 batting average<\/a> and .840 OPS over the two weeks prior to Monday\u2019s game, after a slow start dropped his season OPS to .719 through 23 games.<\/p>\n

Umpires warned both dugouts after Elder hit Daylen Lile<\/a> to start the sixth inning. Nothing further escalated. Weiss drew the line at two hit batsmen in one game regardless of intent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne time, it happens,\u201d Weiss said. \u201cBut a couple of times, that\u2019s a tough one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJonathan Vankin<\/a> JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Braves\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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