Ronald Acuna Jr. ties game with pinch hit RBI double

ATLANTA — It wasn’t necessarily another Kirk Gibson moment. But when Ronald Acuña Jr. came off the bench to deliver a game-tying RBI double in the seventh inning of Friday’s 6-4 win over the Marlins, he energized the Braves and again proved how special he can be when healthy. 

As Braves manager Brian Snitker addressed the media Friday afternoon, he indicated Acuña may be available to return to the lineup on Saturday. But with his team trailing 4-3 with two outs in the seventh, Snitker lifted Travis Demeritte in favor of Acuña and then watched his team erupt. 

Acuña had missed the previous three starts with a right quad strain he had suffered after scoring the walk-off run in Tuesday’s win over the Phillies. But he didn’t show any signs of rust when he laced his game-tying double off Anthony Bass into the left-field corner. The Braves outfielder burst out of the batter’s box with excitement and twirled his bat high in the air as Matt Olson scored from first base.

Dansby Swanson followed with a walk and managed to score from first on Ozzie Albies’ go-ahead, two-run double to shallow left field. Jorge Soler grabbed the ball along the left-field line and momentarily held it before throwing it back toward the infield. Soler’s decision to not throw to the plate allowed Swanson to score uncontested after running through third-base coach Ron Washington’s stop sign.