Ronald Acuña Jr. added another milestone to his remarkable career on Wednesday night, blasting a three-run homer and becoming the fastest player in Major League Baseball history to reach 200 home runs and 200 stolen bases as the Atlanta Braves rolled past the Washington Nationals, 9-0.
Acuña’s seventh-inning drive to left-center field not only extended Atlanta’s lead to 6-0, but also cemented his place in baseball history. The Braves superstar reached the exclusive 200/200 club in just 904 career games, shattering the previous record of 929 games set by Alfonso Soriano in August 2006.
The historic homer was Acuña’s 14th of the season and capped another dynamic performance from the former National League MVP, who earlier stole the 225th base of his career and his 20th of the year.
Before Acuña’s record-setting blast, Sean Murphy provided the game’s decisive moment. The Braves and Nationals were locked in a scoreless battle that was interrupted by a 1-hour, 25-minute rain delay in the fourth inning. Atlanta appeared poised to score before the stoppage, loading the bases with no outs after an Acuña single, a walk, and a Washington error. Reliever Riley Cornelio entered after play resumed and escaped trouble by retiring both Murphy and Mike Yastrzemski.
Murphy would not be denied for long.
In the sixth inning, Acuña opened the frame with a single and promptly stole second base. After Cornelio struck out the next two hitters and intentionally walked Michael Harris II, Murphy crushed a three-run homer to left field, snapping the scoreless deadlock and giving Atlanta a 3-0 lead.
The blast was Murphy’s third home run in five games, continuing a recent power surge for the Braves catcher.
Braves Pitching Dominates
Atlanta’s pitching staff combined for a shutout and never allowed Washington to generate any sustained offense.
Starter Grant Holmes was sharp from the outset, needing just 26 pitches to retire the first nine Nationals batters before the weather delay halted his outing. Following the lengthy interruption, Dylan Dodd contributed a scoreless inning before Elieser Hernández (2-0) took over and delivered three scoreless frames.
Washington’s first hit did not come until the sixth inning, when James Wood lined a two-out single. Hernández allowed only two hits while earning the victory.
The Nationals struggled to mount any threat against Atlanta’s blend of pitching and defense, finishing the night shut out as the Braves pulled away late.
Looking Ahead
The Braves now turn their attention to a crucial four-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Atlanta is scheduled to send ace Chris Sale (13-9, 2.06 ERA) to the mound in Friday’s opener against Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (16-4, 2.52 ERA).
But Wednesday belonged to Acuña.
With one swing, the Braves star delivered another reminder of his rare combination of power and speed, reaching a benchmark no player in baseball history has achieved faster and helping Atlanta cruise to a convincing victory over Washington.
