The Atlanta Braves will need more from five-time All-Star Ronald Acuña to extend their season following Tuesday's 3-2 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"He's one of the reasons we're out here," Braves utility man Mauricio Dubón told reporters after the Game 3 loss, including The Athletic's Jesús Cano. "He needs to show up tomorrow."
The Braves host the Dodgers at Truist Park on Wednesday with their season on the line, as they trail 2-1 in the best-of-five National League Division Series.
Acuña is 3-for-21 in the playoffs and hasn't produced an extra-base hit or driven in a run. In Game 3, he drew a walk and went hitless in three at-bats. He also stranded two runners on base in the fifth inning after going up 3-1 in the count against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Acuña has recorded a .238 batting average and .757 OPS in 130 career postseason at-bats. In 2018, the former NL Rookie of the Year became the youngest player (20 years, 293 days) in MLB history to hit a grand slam in the playoffs.
"We just need Ronald to be Ronald," Braves ace Chris Sale said Monday. "I'll be honest, 50% of him is better than most. Again, I think you get into these situations and sometimes you try to do more."
Acuña is among a trio of Atlanta's key contributors who've underperformed. He, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin are a combined 5-for-32 in the postseason.
"Those guys have been our aircraft carriers all year," manager Walt Weiss said. "Every time one of those guys steps in the box, I think something good is going to happen. But we faced some pretty good pitching; that had something to do with it. But those guys, they're always one at-bat away from changing a game."
The Braves will send trade-deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle to the mound for Wednesday's must-win contest, while the Dodgers plan to counter with Tyler Glasnow.
