Spencer Strider was activated from the injured list Sunday and was set to make his season debut for the Atlanta Braves against the Colorado Rockies. Hours before first pitch, the club also placed Ronald Acuña Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring after he left Saturday night’s game in the second inning.
The timing sharpened the contrast for a Braves team that entered Sunday with the best record in baseball at 24-10. Strider had been sidelined by a strained oblique, while Acuña’s setback came one game after he tried to run out a ground ball, pulled up about halfway down the base path and grabbed at the hamstring that had tightened on him.
To clear space for Strider, the Braves optioned right-hander Hunter Stratton to Triple-A Gwinnett following Saturday’s game. When Acuña went on the injured list Sunday, the club selected outfielder José Azócar’s contract from the minor league club to fill the roster spot.
The loss hits Acuña at a moment when he had been on the field every day. The 2023 National League MVP and 2023 All-Star had played in all 34 games and was hitting.252 with two home runs, nine RBIs, 17 runs and seven steals before the hamstring issue forced him out.
It also reopens a familiar concern. Acuña suffered a torn ACL in May 2024 that limited him to a combined 144 games over the past two seasons, and this latest injury comes just as the Braves were trying to pair his production with a healthy return from Strider. The pitcher’s comeback gives Atlanta a needed boost, but the day began with another reminder of how thin the margin can be around one of the sport’s deepest lineups.
