ATLANTA -- This is how fast it can happen. With two out in the sixth inning, Zack Wheeler had retired 17 of 18 hitters, needing 58 pitches to run through the Braves’ batting order twice. His 59th delivery – a sinker that bore in, as opposed to down – plunked Ronald Acuna in the right elbow. That pitch changed the game Wednesday. It also changed this National League Division Series.
Acuna’s elbow felt … well, about the way you’d figure taking a 95-mph pitch off the crazy bone would feel. He slumped to his knees. It took him a while to stand. When finally he did, he moved slowly toward first base. He became the Braves’ second base runner – he’d been the first, too, having singled in the fourth – of a night that hadn’t produced a run.
The Truist Park audience, which has seen Acuna hit by pitches too often, booed Wheeler. (Never mind that he’s from Cobb County.) The booing increased when Wheeler threw to first base to chase Acuna back. By the time Dansby Swanson worked the count full, the place was roaring. When Swanson drew a walk – Wheeler’s one and only – Acuna moved to second base. After 5-2/3 innings, a Brave was in scoring position.
