Acuña leaves early with left knee soreness, Sale improves to 8-1 as Braves top Pirates 8-1

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. left the Atlanta Braves’ 8-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning Sunday with left knee painand Chris Sale improved to 8-1 allowing four hits in seven innings.

Acuña, the reigning NL MVP, led off with a double to right center off Martín Pérez. With Marcell Ozuna at the plate, Acuña led toward third on a stolen base attempt and his left knee gave out. Acuña remained on the ground for several minutes while he was treated, pointing at his left leg before walking off under his own power.

Wearing a knee brace in the clubhouse, Acuña said he will have an MRI Sunday night and expects to be placed on the 10-day injured list.

“I was very scared because I felt the pain at first,” Acuña said through a translator. “I hope everything will go well.”

Jarred Kelenic went 3-for-4 in place of Acuña, a 26-year-old outfielder hitting .250 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 49 games.

Sale struck out eight and allowed one run in another impressive outing for the 35-year-old southpaw, who returned to the form that earned him seven straight All-Star selections from 2012 to 2018 before a string of injuries.

“I just do what I have to do,” Sale said. “We all have our part in the team. I just post every five days and try to avoid racing. … Take every start, you want to win. I’ve had some tough times the last few days. You want to end on a good note when you go home.

Matt Olson had three RBIs with a homer and a double to save the final game of the three-game series.

Pérez allowed one run, four hits and two walks in three innings before injuring his left groin. The 33-year-old southpaw was grounded after Kelenic beat him to first for a one-out single in the third. He then allowed an RBI double from Ozzie Albies that tied the score 1-1.

Pittsburgh also lost catcher Joey Bart, removed after the first inning and replaced by Yasmani Grandal with a left thumb injury.

“Very, very strange,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of the three injuries that occurred in the first three innings. “The Acuña thing, I actually didn’t even see it happen. I watched the replay. … It was a little concerning for a guy as talented (as him) in our game, the way he fell off. Then with Joey and Martín, yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that.

Shelton said he hopes to have more information on Pérez and Bart on Monday.

Grandal gave Pittsburgh the lead with an RBI single in the second half.

Travis d’Arnaud doubled Carmen Mlodzinski (0-2) in the fourth and scored on Orlando Arcia’s sacrifice fly. Olson extended the lead to 4-1 an inning later with a two-run double.

In the top of the eighth, Olson threw a fastball from Aroldis Chapman 420 feet into the Allegheny River, past the Clemente Wall, to right. Duvall hit a 428-foot home run into the left field bleachers past Chapman two batters later, giving the Braves a five-run cushion.

“It’s pretty nice to see us come out and score some points,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It was quite difficult. Great to see Matt have that kind of day and Jarred swung the bat really well. It was really good.”

FOLLOWING

Braves: RHP Charlie Morton (3-1, 3.35) takes the mound Monday as Atlanta returns home to begin a four-game series against Washington and LHP Mitchell Parker (3-2, 3.32)

Pirates: RHP Jared Jones (3-4, 3.05) will start Tuesday, the first of a two-game series at Detroit. LHP Tarik Skubal (6-1, 2.25) starts for the Tigers.

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