Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. hopes to stay hot in series finale vs. Padres

After hitting two home runs in his first two games of the season, Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back in the lineup on Sunday afternoon for the rubber game of the team’s home series against the San Diego Padres.

The Braves originally indicated that Acuna might play two games and take a game off as he returns from an ACL injury that kept him out for nearly a year. But after going 3-for-9 with two homers and three RBI in the first two games, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker confirmed that Acuna will play in the series finale.

The Padres won the first game 2-1 on Friday, but the Braves came back for a 7-1 victory on Saturday to even the series and beat San Diego for the first time in six tries this year.

“I just talked to him, and he feels great,” Snitker said about Acuna after Saturday’s game. “We have the off day on Monday, and then we’ll just look at it as we go down the road. We planned on giving him a day, but if I’m swinging the bat like he is …”

The pitching matchup for the finale will feature a pair of right-handers — Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach (3-3, 3.52 ERA) against San Diego’s Dylan Cease (1-3, 4.50).

Schwellenbach will make his 11th start of the season and has won two outings in a row. In his last appearance on Sunday at Boston, he pitched seven innings and allowed four runs on six hits, one walk and three strikeouts in a 10-4 win.

He faced the Padres on March 29 and did not receive a decision in a 1-0 loss after pitching six scoreless innings and allowing only one hit. In two career starts against San Diego, Schwellenbach is 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA; he allowed one run over seven innings in a 6-1 win over the Padres on July 12, 2024.

Cease, who will make his 11th start, is looking for his first win since April 2. He has been victimized by a lack of offensive support, having allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last seven starts.

“I just feel it’s part of the game,” Cease said. “It’s a long season and you kind of go through your lulls, but they’re capable of coming out and putting up 10. It’s a long season. That’s why it’s a difficult game.”

In his most recent outing on Tuesday at Toronto, Cease took the loss after allowing three runs on three hits in seven innings of a 3-0 defeat.

“I like where I’m at,” Cease said. “For the most part, I’m filling up the zone. I’m frustrated, you know? I mean, just one mistake really got me, but it’s part of the game.”

Cease faced the Braves in the season-opening series and worked 4 1/3 innings on March 28, allowing three runs on four hits, two walks and striking out seven in a 4-3 Padres win. In four career starts against Atlanta, Cease is 2-0 with a 4.19 ERA.

But the Padres continue to struggle on offense. They have two or fewer runs in seven of their last eight games and are 1-7 in that span. The exception has been Manny Machado, who is 4-for-6 with a home run in the series. He has hit safely in 17 of the last 22 games, lifting his average to .317.

–Field Level Media