Snitker: ‘Fun to watch’ Braves’ young players
CINCINNATI — Atlanta’s youth movement is going long.
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies, the two youngest players in the major leagues, both homered as they combined for five RBIs Thursday to lead the Braves to a 7-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Atlanta earned a split of the four-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Acuna became the youngest player in the major leagues Wednesday at 20 years, 128 days, and went 1-for-5 in his debut. On Thursday, he hit a home run off Homer Bailey to lead off the second inning — the ball landed five rows deep into the left-field upper deck — singled in the sixth and hit a tiebreaking double off Wandy Peralta (1-1) in the eighth after Freddie Freeman’s third double of the game.
“It’s truly a unique moment,” Acuna, who is from Venezuela, said through interpreter Franco Garcia. “Your first home run in the big leagues is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.”
Acuna became the youngest Braves player to homer since Andruw Jones against the Reds on Aug. 23, 1997, when he was 20 years, 122 days. Acuna was greeted in the dugout by the traditional silent treatment and walked almost the entire length of the dugout, exchanging phantom high-fives, before his teammates pounced to celebrate.
Albies, a 21-year-old who made his MLB debut last August, hit a two-run homer in the fifth for a 4-0 lead and added an RBI double in the ninth. Albies’ two extra-base hits in the game lifted his total to a franchiserecord 19 for the month of April, two more than former players Chipper Jones, Dale Murphy and Justin Upton.
“It’s fun to watch,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s cool to be around these young guys and the energy they bring.”
Snitker was impressed as much by Acuna’s speed as his power.
“He makes the club more athletic,” Snitker said. “Batting, fielding, running the bases — he makes the club better.”
Atlanta reliever Sam Freeman (1-1) retired all four batters he faced, and Arodys Vizcaino pitched a one-hit ninth for his second save. The rebuilding Reds dropped to 5-20 for the first time in franchise history.
“The Braves are playing good baseball,” said interim manager Jim Riggleman, who took over before the Atlanta series after Bryan Price was fired weeks into his fifth season in Cincinnati. “We didn’t have an answer for the middle of their lineup.”
Every Atlanta starter except catcher Kurt Suzuki had at least one hit, including pitcher Sean Newcomb, who also was enjoying watching and being part of the youth movement.
“It’s been fun,” said Newcomb, 24 and in his second MLB season. “We’re winning, and we have a lot of young guys. We have a lot of chemistry.”
Newcomb gave up four runs, five hits and three walks in six innings. He allowed just two hits through four innings, but Cincinnati tied the score in a four-run fifth that included Joey Votto’s three-run homer. Votto has homered in three straight games for the sixth time in his MLB career.
Bailey allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings.
“My goal was to go deep in the game,” Bailey said.
Braves right-hander Julio Teheran (1-1) is scheduled to start tonight as the Braves begin a three-game series at Philadelphia. Hector Neris (0-1) is the Phillies’ scheduled starter.