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Braves-Pirates game gets so out of hand that Ronald Acuña Jr. tries to hit left-handed

Jack Baer
·Staff writer
·2 min read

The Atlanta Braves won a baseball game by a score of 20-1 on Friday. Had it not been for an intervention by manager Brian Snitker, it would have been even sillier.

With the Braves up 19-1 in the eighth inning thanks to a home run onslaught, Ronald Acuña Jr. walked out of the dugout preparing for his sixth plate appearance of the game. The game was so out of hand, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Wilmer Difo was on the mound trying to eat an inning for the team's bullpen.

Acuña apparently wanted to even the playing field against the position player pitcher, so he donned a left-handed batter's helmet, which Snitker quickly vetoed:

Given how much of a hot button that respecting a position player pitcher with a double-digit lead has become, that might have been for the best.

"He tried. I told him I've got three grandkids I've got to put through college," Snitker said after the game, per The Athletic's David O'Brien.

Acuña ended up striking out against Difo, though that hardly made it a good outing for the latter. His final line came out as one inning, six hits, eight earned runs, three walks and one strikeout.

Acuña actually played a big role in putting the Braves so far ahead, as he hit a second-inning grand slam to put them up 5-0. It was his 14th homer of the season, best in the National League and tied with Shohei Ohtani for the most in MLB.

As a team, the Braves were the first in MLB history to hit at least seven homers and two grand slams in a game, per Stats by Stats. The win improved the team's record to 21-24 on the season, third in the NL East.

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