The Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. went 1-for-3 with a double in his first rehab game with Gwinnett, but the Stripers (5-8) suffered their third straight shutout loss in a 2-0 defeat to the Jumbo Shrimp (6-7) on Tuesday night in Jacksonville.
Acuna played five innings in right field. He will serve as the Stripers’ designated hitter in the second game of the series Wednesday afternoon.
Acuña, who is rehabbing after tearing his ACL last summer, has been in Florida playing in simulated games. In those contests, which provide a controlled environment, he had been building up in the outfield while getting the necessary amount of at-bats.
The Braves sending Acuña on a rehab assignment means the star outfielder is ready to play five to six innings in the outfield right now. He will continue ramping up as he looks to soon join the Braves.
The Braves are still using May 6 as a loose target date for Acuña to join the big club. If Acuña returns on May 6, his first game in around 10 months would be at Truist Park against the Brewers.
Acuña will likely lead off for the Braves and play right field (when he’s in the outfield on a given day). The thinking is that Acuña will not immediately be a full-time outfielder when he returns to the majors because the Braves want to see how his body responds, and they’ll evaluate that daily.
Last season, Acuña hit .283 with a .990 on-base plus slugging percentage and 24 home runs before tearing his ACL in July.
The AJC’s Justin Toscano contributed to this article.
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