Unbelievable:Ronald Acuña Jr.is OUt!……

The Atlanta Braves were unable to complete the sweep over the New York Mets on Sunday, and superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. played a part in the series-ending defeat.

Acuña went 1-for-4 with a single, a walk and a strikeout in what turned out to be a 4-3 loss. On top of that, he made multiple outs on the basepaths.

After Acuña singled to left in the fifth, starting pitcher Luis Severino picked him off at first. Acuña drew a walk in the seventh, only to get picked off again by reliever Reed Garrett.

The Mets had to challenge the call on the field to get the out, but Acuña was out nonetheless. The Braves were ultimately unable to score a run in either the fifth or seventh.

Even in an unenviable performance, though, Acuña still managed to join a Hall of Famer in the baseball history books.

Acuña became the first former MVP winner to get picked off twice in the same game since Joe Moran did so on July 9, 1977, per OptaSTATS. That poor performance came on the heels of Morgan’s back-to-back NL MVPs with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976.

Acuña, meanwhile, won NL MVP in 2023 after finishing the season with 41 home runs, 106 RBI, 73 stolen bases, a .337 batting average, a 1.012 OPS and an 8.2 WAR.

The 26-year-old hasn’t come anywhere near that level of production so far in 2024, as he is currently batting just .252 with three home runs, 10 RBI, 14 stolen bases, a .714 OPS and a 0.3 WAR.

Acuña has stolen just one base in his last 10 games.

Despite Acuña’s struggles, and his game-altering blunders on Sunday, the Braves are still 24-13 on the season, which puts them on pace for a 105-win campaign. Atlanta will return home Monday to open a series with the Chicago Cubs, who boast a 24-17 record.

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Last season, the Braves star right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. set the baseball world ablaze with his incredible ability to steal bases. Acuña swiped 73 bags en route to his NL MVP award. Many predicted him to lead the game in stolen bases this year too.

But to this point, that hasn’t exactly been the case, not to his discredit. The Reds Elly De La Cruz leads the league by a wide margin. De La Cruz has 25 compared to Acuña’s 14.

But Acuña still has time to make the same waves that he did last year. He still has time to lead the league and catch De La Cruz among others. But his recent stretch of base-running mistakes don’t look good for the young superstar.

Reigning MVP Ronald Acuña Jr picked off three times in two games

During Monday’s game, Acuña reached safely. Then he was picked off, which marked the third consecutive time that he reached base and was picked off first base. This has Braves media and their fanbase scratching their heads in utter confusion.

Acuña would join some pretty low company where he was the first major leaguer to be picked off three times in two games in almost 20 years. The superstar was just eight years old the last time this feat was accomplished.

MLB put in a ton of rules which have led to the boom in baserunning, and in excitement, over the last two years. The bigger bases, the disengagement limits and the pitch clock all play in favor of the runner.

Some fellow baseball players ran to Acuña’s aid, and the security guards escorted the fans off the field, but one didn’t go willingly. One fan calmly allowed security to walk him off field, but the other kept waving his hands, kicking and flailing, to get Acuña’s attention and had to be carried away by three guards.

The scuffle unfolded in the bottom of the seventh inning, after Atlanta had broken open a close game with four runs in the top of the inning.

Acuña, who is from Venezuela and made his Major League Baseball debut in 2018, is a favorite to win the league’s MVP award this season.

“I was a little scared at first,” Acuña told reporters through an interpreter after the game. “I think the fans were out there and asking for a picture. But security was able to get there, and so I think everything is OK, everyone is OK.”

The Braves ended up beating the Rockies, 14-4.

“You don’t want to see that happen, I know that,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters after the game. “You don’t know what they will do when they get out there. It’s a scary situation.