SI

Ronald Acuna Jr. Hit a Ridiculous Home Run on a Pitch Way Outside the Strike Zone

The pitch was over a foot off the plate.

Tim Capurso

Acuna, who hit two home runs in his return to the Braves lineup on Wednesday, appears ready for the Home Run Derby.
Acuna, who hit two home runs in his return to the Braves lineup on Wednesday, appears ready for the Home Run Derby. / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
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After being scratched from the Atlanta Braves' lineup on Tuesday due to a back issue, Ronald Acuna Jr. returned on Wednesday with a bang. Acuna led off the game with a rocket home run, a long ball that apparently landed in uncharted waters at Sutter Health Park, as neither ESPN nor Statcast could get a good reading on the distance the ball traveled. But that arguably wasn't even Acuna's most impressive homer of the contest.

That came later in the top of the fourth inning.

Facing Athletics right-hander Mitch Spence, Acuna took the first two offerings for strikes, then opted to swing at a slider that was well out of the strike zone, but one that Spence hung nonetheless. The Braves' superstar somehow reached out and crushed the ball the opposite way to right field at 106 mph for his second homer of the game.

How indeed. The pitch was 1.19 feet from the center of home plate, which is tied for the furthest outside pitch that Acuna has homered on in his career, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.

Acuna certainly looks Home Run Derby-ready. The Braves' superstar will be swinging for the fences in the competition in front of the hometown fans at Truist Park on July 14 at 8 p.m. ET.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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