During spring training, the development of Braves phenom Acuna was at the forefront of everyone’s attention. It turns out they have two young stars sweeping MLB.
Not only has Acuna lived up to the hype since earning a call-up earlier this month, 21-year-old second baseman Albies has been one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball this season.
Albies went two for five with a home run (nine), three runs scored, three RBIs, a walk and a stolen base (3) against the Phillies. With his homer and double, Albies retook the MLB lead for total bases this season (75).
Acuna went two for three with an RBI and two walks. He hit his fourth double and is now batting .421.
With Albies, Acuna and star veteran slugger Freddie Freeman atop their line-up, and a host of young pitchers breaking through the ranks, the Braves look like a team poised to make some noise this year, and for many more to come.
KINGHAM REPAYS FAITH
The Pittsburgh Pirates recalled 26-year-old righthander Nick Kingham from Triple-A to start, and he responded by allowing one hit and striking out nine in seven innings of a 5-0 win over the St Louis Cardinals. The Pirates (17-11) have now won five straight to move back into the top spot in the National League (NL) Central.
ROCKIES’ BATS STRUGGLE
Playing away from the comfortable confines of Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies’ bats failed to show up in Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Miami Marlins, recording only four hits while allowing lefthander Caleb Smith to throw seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts for his first win of the season.
HANIGER HOMERS AGAIN
Mitch Haniger became the third player to reach 10 home runs this season. He went three for five on the day with three runs scored to help the Seattle Mariners to a 10-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.
SUNDAY’S RESULTS
Boston Red Sox 4-3 Tampa Bay RaysToronto Blue Jays 7-2 Texas RangersBaltimore Orioles 5-3 Detroit TigersMiami Marlins 3-0 Colorado RockiesWashington Nationals 3-1 Arizona DiamondbacksSeattle Mariners 10-4 Cleveland IndiansAtlanta Braves 10-1 Philadelphia PhilliesPittsburgh Pirates 5-0 St Louis CardinalsHouston Astros 8-4 Oakland AthleticsCincinnati Reds 8-2 Minnesota TwinsChicago Cubs 2-0 Milwaukee BrewersKansas City Royals 5-4 Chicago White SoxSan Francisco Giants 4-2 Los Angeles DodgersNew York Mets 14-2 San Diego PadresNew York Yankees 2-1 Los Angeles Angels
YANKEES AT ASTROS
A rematch of last year’s American League Championship Series. Houston rallied in that matchup to topple the young New York Yankees, but Astros have struggled in recent weeks. The Yankees had some rotational issues early this season, but the line-up – led by Didi Gregorius and Aaron Judge – have been in mid-season form.
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