ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves’ training staff told Ronald Acuña Jr. to be ready on the bench if needed.
That was all Acuña needed to know.
Acuña’s pinch-hit double tied the game, and he scored the go-ahead run on Ozzie Albies’ two-run bloop double in the seventh inning as the Braves recovered after blowing an early three-run advantage to beat the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Friday night.
“You know me, I’m always ready to play,” Acuña said through a translator after being held out of the starting lineup for the third straight game due to a strained right quadriceps.
Miami led 4-3 before Acuña’s double down the left-field line off Anthony Bass (1-2) drove in Matt Olson, who led off the seventh with a walk. The sellout crowd of 40,064 at Truist Park was still celebrating Acuña’s hit as Bass walked Dansby Swanson.