ATLANTA – Ronald Acuña Jr. is not starting in the Atlanta Braves’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night after fouling a ball off his left foot the previous night.
Acuña moved around the Braves clubhouse Sunday afternoon with his left knee on a medical scooter to keep his foot elevated. Tests showed no fracture, but the star outfielder said he couldn’t put pressure on his foot.
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“I’d say that’s the one thing that has me a little worried, but we’ll see how it goes,” Acuña said through a translator.
Acuña was not wearing a protective boot. He said he asked for the scooter “because I feel like I can’t put pressure on my foot.”
The Braves are off on Monday, giving Acuña two days to rest.
Braves manager Brian Snitker said the injury is “just a bruise” and said “we’ll see where he’s at Tuesday.”
Asked if he was worried Acuña can’t put pressure on his foot, Snitker said, “No, if it’s not broken.”
Acuña fouled a ball off the top of his left foot in the third inning of the Braves’ 5-3 win on Saturday night. He remained in the game before leaving after the eighth inning.
“I just kept playing and then as the game went on eventually it just got to the point I couldn’t really stand on it,” he said.
Acuña is hitting .281 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in his return this year from a torn ACL in his right knee. He tore the ligament last July when he landed awkwardly while attempting to make a catch in right field in Miami and missed the rest of the season as Atlanta went on to win the World Series.
Acuña leads the Braves with 13 stolen bases and has returned to an everyday role in right field after spending time as the designated hitter early in his comeback.
“It’s a feeling that reminds me of last year a little bit, just the frustration of not wanting to have to do anything related to rehabs or rehab assignments or anything,” Acuña said. “I just want to be able to play every day. The frustration is not being able to play every single day.”
Shortstop Dansby Swanson is hitting leadoff, the spot normally held by Acuña. Adam Duvall is starting in right field while Marcell Ozuna, normally the designated hitter, is in left field.
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