Braves Briefing: Ronald Acuña Jr. leads the NL in runs scored

The Atlanta Braves took care of business in their first game on the road against the Kansas City Royals. Thanks to five home runs, they won 10-3.

Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, and Sam Hilliard all got Atlanta on the board with the long ball.

Ronald Acuña Jr. continues to be great

Acuña now leads the National League in runs with 13 on the season. He's alsoamong the leaders in all of Major League Baseball with six steals. (Jorge Mateo, Cedric Mullins, and Nico Hoerner have seven) His batting average is .390 and his 11 RBIs is only four off of Francisco Lindor's NL-leading 15.

Last night, Acuña had three hits, scored three runs, had two RBIs, and a home run.

NL East Standings

Atlanta's record away from home is what is setting them apart in the NL East. Their 6-1 record away from home is the only road record above .500 in the NL East.

Team	Record	GB	Action today
Atlanta	10-4	-	@ Kansas City
NYM	8-6	2.0	@ Oakland
Miami	7-7	3.0	Host Arizona
Philadelphia	5-9	5.0	@ Cincinnati
Washington	4-10	6.0	Hosts Cleveland

We wrote it

Braves Today's Dan Strickland covered the action last night. One big note was the performance of Vaughn Grissom with Orlando Arcia being out.

Vaughn Grissom started the night out strong with his RBI double to right field. It was an excellent way for Grissom to begin his time with the Braves in 2023. Last year he proved he could handle himself at the plate. He hit well in spring training, and his numbers in AAA were solid to begin this season.
The question the Braves have had all offseason was regarding his defense and if he was ready to be the everyday guy at the Major League level. His defense was not bad tonight, but there were several plays he did not make that Arcia has been making all year. Hopefully, he will be able to settle into the role and play solid defense until Arcia is able to return from the IL.

What's next

Game two of the series is Saturday, Jackie Robinson Day, with a 4:10 ET first pitch. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports South and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.