Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. Suffers Elbow Injury on HBP vs. Pirates; X-Rays Negative

The Atlanta Braves announced Tuesday that superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. underwent x-rays after being hit on the elbow during a matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Acuña was removed from the game, though in news that will be met with sighs of relief across Georgia, x-rays came back negative.

Acuña did not look pleased after taking a 97 mph sinker from reliever Colin Holderman to the elbow in the sixth inning, slamming his bat down in anger before doubling over in pain.

Acuña, 25, is having another excellent season, coming into Tuesday's game hitting .339 with 25 homers, 67 RBI, 99 runs, 53 stolen bases and a 1.003 OPS. He led all of baseball in stolen bases and on-base percentage (.421) and was tied with Freddie Freeman for the most runs scored in the sport.

And the four-time All-Star led off Tuesday's matchup with home run No. 26:

He's making a compelling case for NL MVP, though the Los Angeles Dodgers' pair of Freeman (.340 with 23 homers, 80 RBI, 99 runs and a 1.012 OPS) and Mookie Betts (.284 with 31 homers, 75 RBI, 92 runs and a .966 OPS) are nipping at his heels.

What separates Acuña from that duo is his impact on the base paths, however. And it doesn't hurt being the best player on a team that has the best record (70-40) in the sport.

He's also chasing history. Only four players have ever recorded seasons with 40 homers and steals: Jose Canseco in 1988 for the Oakland Athletics, Barry Bonds in 1996 for the San Francisco Giants, Alex Rodriguez in 1998 for the Seattle Mariners and Alfonso Soriano in 2006 for the Washington Nationals.

And seeing as he's already eclipsed 50 steals, he has a chance to be the first player in the history of the sport to reach 40 homers and 50 thefts in a season. Those hopes will go out the window if Tuesday's injury keeps him out of action for any significant period of time—reaching 40 homers was going to be a daunting task even if he stayed healthy—but hitting that milestone would all but guarantee his first MVP award.