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“I’ve always tried to play baseball hard,” Acuna said. “It’s just one of those things that happen. I’ll just continue to play hard.”

Braves' Ronald Acuna reacts to being pulled from game for not hustling

Ronald Acuna has nothing but respect for his manager's decision to pull him from Sunday's game.

The Braves outfielder slowed down to admire what he thought was his 36th home run of the season in the third inning against the Dodgers, but instead was held to a single because he didn't hustle on the hit.

Ronald Acuña Jr. has been taken out of the biggest game yet for watching a potential HR turned single. This will be a GOOD LESSON for a young player with TONS of talent. Snitker Cares about Ñ, THE TEAM & sends a message to everyone about playing the game the right way. #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/ysPYnUczfE
— Paul Byrd (@PaulByrd36) August 18, 2019

The 21-year-old then compounded the initial error when he was thrown out while trying to steal second base.

Acuna took the field for the top of the fourth but manager Brian Snitker pulled him before the Braves took the field in the fifth, putting Adam Duvall in left field and moving Rafael Ortega to center.

“He didn’t run,” Snitker said, via MLB.com. “You’ve got to run. It’s not going to be acceptable here. As a teammate, you’re responsible for 24 other guys and that name on the front is a lot more important than that name on the back of that jersey. You can’t do that. We’re trying to accomplish something special here. Personal things have to be put on the back-burner.”

The Braves escaped with a 5-3 win after rallying for four runs on a Rafael Ortega grand slam in the sixth, but Acuna knows the final outcome could have been far less exciting.

“It’s one of those things where I [wasn’t] thinking and that’s the reaction I took,” Acuna told reporters. “[Snitker] felt that was the decision he had to make, and I respect that decision. …

“I’ve always tried to play baseball hard. It’s just one of those things that happen. I’ll just continue to play hard.”

Acuna is hitting .296 with 35 home runs and 85 RBIs this season. He also leads the National League with 29 stolen bases and 104 runs scored.

Expect him to be back in the lineup Tuesday against the Marlins.

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