The Mets switched pitchers, but the Braves just kept hitting bombs.
After Denyi Reyes allowed a three-run homer to Sean Murphy in the first inning and a two-run dinger to Kevin Pillar in the second, Mets manager Buck Showalter pulled him and placed John Curtiss on the mound in a Game 1 loss to the Braves in Monday’s doubleheader.
But Ronald Acuna Jr. — the very next batter — hit a 448-foot bomb into the third deck in left-center at Citi Field with a 114.5 mph exit velocity for his fifth home run of the season.
That marked the fourth time this season the Braves have hit back-to-back home runs.
However, Acuna didn’t last long in Game 2.
On the third pitch by Tylor Megill, Acuna was hit by a 93.4 mph high fastball in the upper back near his left shoulder and left the game with what the Braves said was a contusion.
Acuna kneeled with his head down on the ground, surrounded by trainers, and later sat up while holding his shoulder.
Former Braves shortstop and current bench coach Walt Weiss said something to Mets third-base coach Joey Cora about the pitch.
Ronald Acuna of the Braves on the ground in pain after being hit by a pitch from the Mets’ Tylor Megill in the first inning during Game 2 of a doubleheader on May 1, 2023. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con“He was the closest guy to me. … I said what I had to say.” Weiss said. “I don’t know what the intentions were. The optics weren’t good.”
Acuna eventually made it to his feet and walked off the field toward the Braves dugout.
Pinch-runner Pillar replaced Acuna on first base, and Atlanta failed to add any runs in the top of the first inning.
“Yeah, always when a guy gets hit, a little bit,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said on having any concerns about Acuna. “So we’ll know more when he gets back.”
Acuna left for a local hospital for additional imaging, a double-check to those taken at Citi Field that came back negative.
Ronald Acuna celebrates after hitting a home run on May 1, 2023. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“The X-rays here at the ballpark were negative, but then they take him to get further ones and other stuff, just to make sure,” Snitker added.
Acuna, 25, is hitting .363 with a 1.034 OPS and 13 stolen bases this season.
He made his major league debut in 2018 with the Braves, earning National League Rookie of the Year, and is a three-time All Star and two-time Silver Slugger.
The outfielder from Venezuela is playing on an eight-year, $100 million contract through 2026.
The Braves won the series opener, 4-0, Friday night before games originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were rained out.
