ATLANTA — Ronald Acuna Jr. watched with interest when Jarred Kelenic was thrown out at second base after failing to hustle out of the batter’s box on a long drive in the Atlanta Braves‘ 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Acuna went to social media to criticize the way manager Brian Snitker handled the situation.
Acuna, recovering from surgery after tearing his left ACL last May, replied to a post on X by MLB.com reporter Mark Bowman on Sunday when Bowman was asked if Snitker had commented on Kelenic. Bowman posted that Snitker “protected Kelenic by replying: ‘Was I supposed to’ when asked if he had said anything to Kelenic.”
Acuna replied to Bowman’s post “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.” The response by Acuna was removed about one hour later.
Kelenic’s drive Saturday night bounced off the wall in right field and he was thrown out at second base by Trevor Larnach.
Acuna was removed from the Braves’ 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 19, 2019. Then only 21 but already an All-Star, Acuna was slow to leave the batter’s box on a long drive that bounced off the right-field wall for a long single.
Snitker waited one inning and then took out Acuna.
“He didn’t run. You’ve got to run,” Snitker said of Acuna after the 2019 game. “It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate you’re responsible for 24 other guys. That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. You can’t do that. We’re trying to accomplish something and do something special here and personal things have got to be put on the backburner. You just can’t let your team down like that.”
Acuna had his knee evaluated last week and he has been cleared to begin cutting as he continues his rehabilitation. He could return to the Braves’ lineup next month.
Acuna was hurt after 49 games last season and hit just .250 with four home runs, one year after winning the National League MVP with 41 home runs, 73 steals and a .337 batting average.
Kelenic, hitting only .170, could lose his starting job when Acuna returns. The Braves entered Sunday’s game with back-to-back wins for the first time this season as new leadoff hitter and left fielder Alex Verdugo got off to a quick start. Verdugo had four hits and drove in the go-ahead run on Saturday night.
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