Acuña hits 40th HR, Braves clinch tie for first in NL East
ATLANTA — Ronald Acuña Jr. was pumped to join a very exclusive club.
He’s even more thrilled about the chance to properly celebrate a division title.
Acuña became the second-youngest player in baseball history to hit 40 homers in a season, Freddie Freeman also drove in two runs and the Atlanta Braves clinched at least a tie for first place in the NL East with a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
“That’s the most exciting thing up to this point,” Acuña said through a translator. “That’s what we’re all looking for. I think for all of us, it’s just come out with that same energy, that same enthusiasm, get that win and hopefully celebrate. That’s something we’re all looking forward to.”
With eight games left in the regular season, a second straight division title seems a formality for the Braves. They hold a 9 1/2-game lead over the Washington Nationals, who have played three fewer games and were o Thursday.
The Braves can o cially let loose as soon as Friday with either a victory over the San Francisco Giants or if Washington loses at Miami.
This time around, Acuña can take part in a champagne toast.
He wasn’t yet of legal age when the Braves won the East a year ago.
“They wouldn’t let me drink because I was a minor,” Acuña recalled, breaking into a big mile. “This year, it’s going to be di erent. I’m looking forward to it.”
After winning the first two games of the series, Philadelphia’s postseason hopes took another blow. The Phillies came into the day trailing both Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs by three games for the NL’s second wild-card spot.
“We’ve still got a chance,” Bryce Harper insisted.
Acuña’s historic homer came with a flourish. He launched a 432-foot drive into the second deck at SunTrust Park, standing at home plate to admire his shot o Aaron Nola before tossing the bat away and slowly rounding the bases.
Mel Ott, who was 20 when he hit 42 homers for the New York Giants in 1940, is the only player younger than Acuña to post a 40-homer season. Eddie Mathews also was 21 but about two months older than Acuña when he hit 47 homers for the Milwaukee Braves in 1953.
Ott and Mathews are both members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
“It feels incredible,” Acuña said. “To be compared to superstars and Hall of Famers like that, especially at such a young age, wow.”
The youngster had gone five games since hitting his 39th homer.
“He might relax now and really go o ,” manager Brian Snitker said. “That’s an unbelievable accomplishment at this stage of his career.”
Acuña is still three stolen bases shy of another milestone. He has 37 steals in his quest to become just the fifth 40-40 player in baseball history, following Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Alfonso Soriano (2006).