The 28-year-old got injured during the Braves' game on Thursday.
The Atlanta Braves enter Friday's matchup against the Washington Nationals with baseball's best record at 35-16, and there's even more reason for fans to be excited. Star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is in the lineup after suffering a bone bruise in his left thumb during Thursday's 9-3 win over the Miami Marlins, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
Manager Walt Weiss said that the five-time All-Star should be fine and that X-rays were negative on Thursday, per 92.9 The Game's Grant McCauley. Atlanta got lucky that he avoided a serious injury, as he has a .754 OPS over 37 games this season and has a .971 OPS over five games in May.
Acuna's career has been filled with injuries. The 6-foot, 205-pounder returned on Tuesday after suffering a hamstring strain on May 2, and he hasn't played a full season since 2023.
Acuna played 111 games as a rookie in 2018 due to knee and back issues before playing just 82 games in 2021 due to a torn right ACL. The native Venezuelan then played 119 games in 2022 before finally playing a full season in 2023. Then, he tore his left ACL the following year, causing him to play just 49 games. He also played 95 games in 2025 after returning in May, dealing with back and calf problems along the way.
However, Acuna still won the NL Comeback Player of the Year award last year, slashing .290/.417/.518 with 21 homers and 42 RBIs.
Bryce Elder Faces Challenging Nationals Lineup
Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder (55). © Joe Nicholson-Imagn ImagesAs for pitching, Atlanta will start right-hander Bryce Elder (4-2, 2.01 ERA) against Washington left-hander Richard Lovelady (2-2, 2.61 ERA) on Friday. Elder ranks eighth in baseball in ERA and 11th with a 0.99 WHIP.
However, the Nationals lead MLB with 280 runs scored, so Elder will have his work cut out for him. Luckily for the 27-year-old, he will be supported by a Braves lineup that's second with 276 runs.
Elder has six quality starts out of 10 appearances this year, a 180-degree turn in his production after last season. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder went 8-11 with a 5.30 ERA across 28 starts in 2025.
After Friday, Atlanta will host Washington for two more games before hitting the road to face the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. After that, it will return home to play the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Friday's game starts at 7:15 p.m. ET in Atlanta's Truist Park.
