NEW YORK — Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. was removed from the second game of Monday’s doubleheader against the New York Mets after getting hit in the left shoulder with a 93 mph fastball from Tylor Megill.
Leading off the game, Acuna was drilled with an 0-2 pitch. He sat on the ground for a while holding his shoulder in obvious pain while receiving attention from an athletic trainer.
Acuna then walked back to the dugout and was replaced by pinch runner Kevin Pillar, who took the slugger’s spot in right field.
The Braves later said that Acuna has a left shoulder contusion.
Acuna finished a triple shy of the cycle and scored three times as the Braves won the opener 9-8 after the teams were rained out the previous two days. He launched a 448-foot home run into the rarely reached third deck at Citi Field, taking a good look at his prodigious drive before beginning an animated trot around the bases.
A trio of New York batters were plunked in the first game — Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil — although all three were just grazed by pitches slower than 90 mph.
The Braves have won six straight meetings between the NL East rivals dating to last year and eight of the past nine, including a pivotal three-game sweep in Atlanta near the end of last season that sent them to their fifth consecutive division title.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.