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CINCINNATI — Ronald Acuña Jr. and his former Braves teammate Marcell Ozuna speak almost daily.
Naturally, then, after Acuña homered twice Saturday night to tally four over a three-game span, Ozuna — now with the Pirates — FaceTimed him.
“He asked me for a bat,” Acuña said, laughing.
Now that the Braves outfielder is healthy after missing 12 games with a strained left hamstring, he’s feeling more like himself and back to bashing baseballs.
Acuña, Jorge Mateo and Matt Olson each went deep and Martín Pérez allowed two runs in five innings as the Braves beat the Reds, 5-2, to clinch the weekend series at Great American Ball Park.
With the victory, Atlanta (40-19) became the first team to 40 wins in 2026.
Acuña homered to tie the score 2-2 in the third. It marked the seventh time in Acuña’s career that he’s homered in at least three consecutive games.
What’s more, with Saturday’s display, Acuña is tied with Francisco Lindor for fifth all-time in multihomer games from the leadoff spot.
Mookie Betts (26)
George Springer (24)
Kyle Schwarber (21)
Alfonso Soriano (19)
Ronald Acuña Jr. (15)
Francisco Lindor (15)
Acuña and Ozuna were teammates in Atlanta from 2020-25. Coincidentally enough, they are now tied for the 11th-most multihomer games in Braves history, with 15 apiece.
“I’m feeling better and better every day,” Acuña said. “I’m working with my hitting coach and the coaching staff in the cage. Baseball is the process. Sometimes you feel good, but you don’t have the results. Now I see the results.”
Acuña, who returned from the injured list on May 18, added a second solo homer in the ninth, blasting one over the fence in center field to cap his dazzling night at the dish that also included steals of second and third base in the fifth inning.
Atlanta’s star outfielder is the third player since at least 1900 with four-plus homers and four-plus steals in a three-game span, joining Shohei Ohtani (2024) and Max Carey (1922). Acuña’s four walks in that span are the most among that list.
“When he gets going, he’s one of those guys who almost makes the game look easy,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “Big things happen. We’ve all seen him when he’s going good. He’s one of the best that there is when he gets right. It’s good to see.”
Pérez (3-3) allowed a two-run home run to JJ Bleday for his only earned runs. He walked three and struck out two while pitching five innings for the eighth straight start.
“Martín did a wonderful job,” Weiss said. “He had some traffic tonight, but he always finds a way to minimize the damage and navigate. He had to work hard through five innings.”
Raisel Iglesias earned his 10th save and extended his streak of successful save opportunities to 28.
After Acuña’s third-inning homer tied the game, Mateo’s third long ball of the season, which put the Braves ahead 3-2 in the fifth, reached the second deck of the left-field bleachers a Statcast-projected 410 feet from home plate, with an exit velocity of 106.6 mph.
Olson’s 16th homer, off left-hander Brock Burke, extended the lead to 4-2 in the seventh.
Acuña’s past few days have really been a spark for the Braves. After not homering since April 24, he belted a grand slam on Thursday at Fenway Park, which set the tone for his big weekend so far in Cincinnati.
“Baseball is hard sometimes,” Acuña said. “But when you hit a grand slam, the confidence is coming right away.”
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