Ronald Acuña Jr. Leaps Mookie Betts In NL MVP Race After Making History
It's been an eventful week for the Atlanta Braves star
The National League MVP favorites went at it Thursday night at Dodger Stadium, and Ronald Acuña Jr. might have cemented his case.
It’s been an eventful week for the Atlanta Braves star. Acuña avoided a scary incident when fans went onto Coors Field and knocked him down. And before first pitch for Thursday’s game, he tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Maria Laborde, per ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Those events culminated in Acuña making Major League Baseball history when he hit a second-inning grand slam to give Atlanta a 5-1 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The home run made the four-time All-Star the first player in MLB history to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in a season.
Former Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts would not be outdone, though, hitting two home runs Thursday to try to get Los Angeles back into it, but Atlanta held on for the win.
Betts became the NL MVP favorite after his stellar series against the Red Sox, but Acuña’s history-making night was enough to convince people to fire the Braves star as short as +125. He’s now -145 to win the award at FanDuel as of Friday morning, and Betts dropped to even money (+100).
The swings from Acuña to Betts as the favorite illustrate how tight the race will be heading into the final stretch of the season. Acuña will add to his offensive numbers, but Betts has a case on the defensive end playing multiple positions.
For the public, it could come down to getting the best number at the right time. But Thursday showed it will be an exciting race to watch.
