© Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Braves Superstar Breaks Homer Drought in Epic Fashion
The Atlanta Braves have tried to get their leadoff hitter going this season
The Atlanta Braves have had some offensive performers that have been hot to start the season.
Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, who went hitless in the team's first game, has picked up a hit in every other contest, giving him a MLB-best sixteen game hitting streak. His eight home runs and twenty-three RBIs both lead baseball.
But one of last season's most consistent performers, rightfielder Ronald Acuña Jr, has been slow to get going at the plate in 2024.
Dealing with a mild meniscus injury in spring training, Ronald was sitting at only a .222 average on April 8th, with one stolen base and only two extra base hits. He started to flash his MVP form the very next day, going 2-3 with three runs and three stolen bases in a Braves victory over the Mets. But despite his offensive stats rebounding over the next week, with his batting average sitting at .286 entering play today, Ronald didn't have a homer on his ledger.
Until today.
Ronald launched a solo homer to open the 5th inning of today's matchup, victimizing Houston Astros starter J.P. France for the second homer of the game charged to the righty. It was 109.5 off the bat and went 422 feet, which would have been a homer in every MLB ballpark except for Arizona's Chase Field (which features an 25-foot-high wall in centerfield).
Ronald's power outage to start the season was notable because of his proficiency at hitting homers last season. Per MLB Network's research staff, Ronald's 65 at-bat homer drought to start the season was the 5th longest homer drought for a player coming off of a 40-homer season in MLB history.
But now he's off the skid, and can resume his chase for MLB's only repeat 40/40 season.