Ronald Acuña homers, steals 50th base in Braves' 11-5 win over Brewers

Updated Jul. 29, 2023 11:08 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Elder says he's no longer surprised by Atlanta Braves teammate Ronald Acuña's astounding accomplishments.

“You get used to it, because he does it every single night,” Elder said. “You're not supposed to get used to it.”

Acuña hit his 24th home run and stole his 50th base, and the Braves used a six-run first inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11-5 on Saturday night.

Elder (8-2) shut down the Brewers after being staked to the big lead. He allowed one run and four hits while striking out three in seven innings.

After a strong start to the season, Elder had two rough outings earlier in July before putting together two solid performances.

“He's handled (adversity) extremely well and continued to believe in himself,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Taylor Hearn allowed four runs in the eighth for the Braves before Michael Tonkin closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.

Acuña went 3 for 4 with two runs, two RBIs, a home run, a steal and a walk. He is on pace for 39 home runs and 79 steals for the season.

“He's been going and (the rest of the team) is going with him,” Snitker said.

Marcel Ozuna was 3 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs, Austin Riley and Orlando Arcia both had two hits and every starter in the Atlanta lineup had at least one hit for the second consecutive game. According to Elias, the Braves last accomplished that in 1996 and the only other team to do it this year is the Rockies, who have done it twice.

Julio Teheran gave up nine runs and 11 hits — including three home runs — in five innings. In his last start, Teheran (2-5) — who spent nine seasons with the Braves — gave up just one run in six innings against them last Sunday.

William Contreras was 2 for 4 with two runs scored and hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning for the Brewers.

The Braves jumped out early, opening the game with four straight singles. After a sacrifice fly by Travis d'Arnaud, Ozuna had an RBI double and Eddie Rosario followed with a home run for a 6-0 lead. It was the sixth time this season the Braves have scored at least five runs in the first, and they have 107 first-inning runs in 102 games.

“We don't talk about it, but we want to do damage in the first inning,” Ozuna said.

Ozuna became the fifth Braves player with at least 20 home runs when he hit a solo shot to right center field in the fifth inning, then added another solo homer in the seventh.

Trailing 11-1 in the eighth, the Brewers scored four runs on Contreras' three-run homer and an RBI single by Joey Wiemer.

ROOKIE ROBBERY

Brewers rookie RF Sal Frelick made a diving catch in the first inning. Travis d’Arnaud drove a ball deep to right field with runners on first and third, and Frelick made a pretty catch that turned a sure double into a sacrafice fly. In the ninth inning, Frelick threw out Acuña, who was trying to advance from first to third on a single.

TURNAROUND TWINS

Eddie Rosario and Marcell Ozuna had struggled for the Braves in July, combining to hit .154 with 3 home runs. In the first two games of the series, the pair is 8 for 16 with four home runs and nine RBIs.

“It sure helps when those guys are clicking,” Snitker said. “It takes pressure off the guys at the top of the order.”

BREWERS MOVES

Veteran slugger Carlos Santana joined the Brewers’ active roster on Saturday and went 0 for 3 with a walk in his debut with Milwaukee.

The Brewers acquired the first baseman in a Thursday trade that sent minor league infielder Jhonny Severino to the Pittsburgh Pirates. To make room for Santana, the Brewers sent reserve infielder Jahmai Jones to Triple-A Nashville. Jones appeared in seven games for the Brewers this season and was 2 for 10 at the plate.

The Brewers also placed pitcher Justin Wilson on the 15-day injured list. Wilson was set to make his first appearance of the season on Friday night after recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he injured his left lat or triceps warming up in the bullpen in the seventh inning.

Right-hander Trevor Megill, who was sent down on Thursday to Triple-A Nashville to make room for Wilson, was recalled.

TRAINING ROOM

Brewers: Wilson underwent an MRI and returned to Milwaukee after suffering what manager Craig Counsell called a ‘significant’ lat injury on Friday.

Braves: LHP Max Fried went 4 1/3 innings and threw 79 pitches, giving up two runs and five hits with four strkeouts for Triple-A Gwinnett in his fourth and possibly final rehab start. Fried has been out since straining his forearm against the Orioles on May 5.

TID-BITS

Acuña’s 50th steal made him the first Braves player since Otis Nixon in 1991 to hit that milestone. Nixon had a franchise-record 72 for the season. ... Teheran started and was the winning pitcher for the Braves in the final game at Turner Field in 2016 and the first game at Truist Park in 2017. ... Michael Harris II’s 11-game hitting streak is tied for the longest active streak in MLB.

UP NEXT

Brewers RHP Colin Rea (5-4, 4.53) will face Braves A.J. Smith-Shawver (1-0, 4.32) in the final game of the regular season between the Braves and Brewers on Sunday.

------

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP--Sports