Braves' Freddie Freeman Calls Out Ronald Acuna for Not Hustling vs. Cardinals

Atlanta Braves center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. did not have a good seventh inning on the bases during his team's 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Thursday's Game 1 of the National League Division Series. 

"It is frustrating," first baseman Freddie Freeman said when discussing Acuna's failure to run out of the box in the frame, per Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan. "I think you have that conversation once. Kinda beat a dead horse if you keep having that same conversation over and over again. That can't happen in the playoffs, can't happen in the regular season."

Acuna led off the bottom of the seventh with his team nursing a 3-1 lead and drilled a long fly ball to right field. He thought it was a home run and admired it in the batter's box, but it only hit the wall. He settled for a single and was eventually doubled off second base on a hard-hit line drive.

"Those things happen, it's baseball," Acuna said, per Justin Felder of Fox 5 in Atlanta. "We're human, we make mistakes."

Had Acuna hustled out of the box, he would have at least ended up on second base. That would have changed the entire outlook of the inning, where even a small-ball approach could have given the Braves an additional insurance run before their problematic bullpen entered the game.

Luke Jackson and Mark Melancon were unable to protect the lead, allowing a combined six earned runs in 1.2 innings. Atlanta's ninth-inning rally fell a run short, which was notable given Acuna's baserunning mistakes two innings prior.

This is not the first time Acuna cost his team by failing to run out of the box.

He hit a deep fly ball during an August game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and proceeded to trot like it was a home run. It didn't clear the fence, and he settled for a single and was then thrown out attempting to steal second base.

Manager Brian Snitker removed him from the game and told reporters, "It's not going to be acceptable here. ... That name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back of that jersey. ... You can't let your team down like that."

It's a safe assumption Acuna will hustle after every hit during Friday's Game 2.