Ronald Acuna Jr. Makes MLB History Following Long-Awaited Return for Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr. smashed a 467-foot home run on the very first pitch he faced on his return to MLB action after almost a year's absence.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Makes MLB History Following Long-Awaited Return for Braves

Ronald Acuna Jr. (Image via Imago)

Friday night marked the long-awaited return of Ronald Acuna Jr. to MLB. While making his return to the batter’s box, the slugger scripted a unique MLB history.

The 2023 National League MVP had been out of action since last May as he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament. The Atlanta Braves would struggle in the absence of their star player and ended up losing in the National League Wild Card.

After some minor league games with the team’s Triple-A affiliate, it was announced on Thursday that Acuna Jr. would be returning to the Braves lineup on Friday against the San Diego Padres.

In his very first at-bat of the 2025 season, the Braves’ No.13 went yard. What’s more surprising is that he homered on the very first pitch he faced off against Nick Pivetta’s 93.1 mph fastball.

While doing so, Acuna Jr. scripted some MLB history. As per stats provided by Opta, the 4-time MLB All-Star became the first person in the league to hit a leadoff home run after missing more than 150 games.

Ronald Acuna Jr. does Ja Morant’s hand grenade celebration following home run against Padres

Ronald Acuna Jr. returned to the MLB with a bang. The Venezuelan international homered off the first pitch on his return to send shockwaves among the fans. Following his home run, he would hit Ja Morant‘s hand grenade celebration.

Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ja Morant
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ja Morant (Image via Imago/X/@PlayoffMem/Britannica)

As soon as he connected with the pitch, Acuna Jr. knew he had smashed a no-doubter. After throwing his bat aside, he would mimic pulling a pin and throwing a hand grenade, and cover his head with his hands while running across the bases.

Morant, the Memphis Grizzlies star, started using this celebration after he was fined for his repeated ‘finger gun‘ celebration. After Acuna Jr. did the same celebration, Morant would take to his X account and drop a simple two-emoji reaction.

Ronald Acuna Jr. home run on return goes to vain as Padres mount late comeback

The Atlanta Braves entered the game on Friday night following an 8-7 loss against the Washington Nationals. It seemed they were on track for an important win against the San Diego Padres as Ronald Acuna Jr. homered in the very first pitch of their offense. However, the Padres mounted a late comeback and broke the hearts of the Braves.

Ronald Acuna Jr.
Ronald Acuna Jr. (Image via Imago)

In a game that was hyped up for the pitching duel between Chris Sale and Nick Pivetta, the Braves pounced first as Acuna Jr. smashed a 467-foot home run in the first inning.

The Braves, though, were unable to add any more runs in the game. The Padres found a way back into the game through a solo home run from Gavin Sheets in the top of the 2nd inning.

The decisive moment came in the top of the 9th inning. 6-time All-Star Manny Machado ripped one shot into the left field off Raisel Iglesias. Prior to this game, the Padres’ star was 0-for-7 against Iglesias and had struck out 4 times.

This home run from Machado helped the Padres end a 6-game losing run. The NL West side were 27-15 after their 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

After that, they got swept by the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays and were left with a 27-21 record. With this win, they are now 3 games behind the division leaders, Los Angeles Dodgers. As for the Braves, this was their third straight defeat and have once again put them below the .500 win percentage mark.

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