Ronald Acuna Jr. will return to the Atlanta starting lineup on Tuesday when the visiting Braves play the Miami Marlins in the second game of a four-game series.
Acuna was activated on Monday and did not play as Miami rolled to a 12-0 win. He had been on the injured list since leaving a game on May 2 with a left hamstring strain. Last week Acuna did some running drills, took batting practice and shagged fly balls.
He likely would be the designated hitter in Miami, as the team prefers to keep him off the artificial surface.
“The turf’s a little tougher on soft tissue, you know, hamstrings, quads, groins, type of thing,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. “It’s a factor. It’s not the factor, but it’s part of the equation when you’re talking about activating somebody.”
Acuna, the 2023 National League MVP, is batting .252 with two homers — the most recent on April 24 — and nine RBIs through 34 games. It is possible that he could be used as the DH until he is at full strength.
“He’s not going to play every day for the first few days,” Weiss said. “We’ll take it day by day.”
The Tuesday pitching matchup features a pair of left-handers, Atlanta’s Martin Perez (2-2, 2.31 ERA) vs. Miami’s Braxton Garrett (0-1, 33.75).
Weiss has been looking for an opportunity to give Perez a start and found it in the middle of the team’s current stretch of 13 consecutive games without a day off when he opted for a six-man rotation. By using the veteran in the second game of the series against the Marlins, the Braves can give Chris Sale and Spencer Strider each an extra day of rest.
Perez will be making his sixth start of the year but first since May 6 at Seattle, when he worked 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs. He made two scoreless one-inning relief appearances since.
“Martin has done an unbelievable job in that role, and I understand it’s not ideal,” Weiss said. “I told Martin this, too. These guys have handled it really well and we’re just trying to keep as many guys involved and keep our starting depth what it is and keep these guys stretched out all at the same time.”
Perez has made five career appearances (four starts) against Miami, going 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA. He did not face the Marlins when the teams played in April.
The Marlins turned to Garrett last week to fill the rotation opening that arose when southpaw Robby Snelling sustained a UCL sprain in his major league debut. Garrett had UCL surgery in 2024 and made his return to the big leagues on Thursday when he allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins.
“Braxton has pitched well here in the past and has earned the chance to come up and be part of our rotation,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “He knows how to pitch, knows how to change seeds, move the ball around.”
Garrett has made five career starts against the Braves, going 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA. He last faced Atlanta in 2023.
Atlanta placed designated hitter Kyle Farmer on the 10-day injured list because of a right forearm strain to make room on the roster for Acuna. Farmer, 35, hit .286 with no homers and three RBIs in 10 games with the Braves.
–Field Level Media
