Ronald Acuna Jr.'s power emerging as Braves seek sweep of fading Reds

The Atlanta Braves have accomplished plenty through the first two months of the regular season. The first team to reach 40 victories will look to add a three-game sweep of the host Cincinnati Reds to the list on Sunday afternoon.

With its 5-2 series-clinching win on Saturday, Atlanta climbed to a season-high 21 games over .500.

The second-highest scoring offense in baseball (312 runs, behind only the Washington Nationals' 320) has posted 23 runs across the last three games, with Ronald Acuna Jr. connecting on four homers in that span.

"When he gets going, he's one of those guys who almost makes the game look easy," Braves manager Walt Weiss said of Acuna. "We've all seen him when he's going good, and he's one of the best there is."

Acuna had hit just two home runs through his first 42 games prior to the recent power stretch.

Spencer Strider (3-0, 3.46 ERA) will look to continue his unbeaten streak to open the season in his sixth start of the year for Atlanta. Strider earned his second consecutive victory on Tuesday, tossing five innings of three-run, three-hit ball, striking out five and walking three in a 7-6 road victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

"Spencer was good. He's given us a chance to win virtually every time out," Weiss said after Strider's last start.. "He's using his secondary stuff. I think he's becoming more of a complete pitcher. He made those adjustments last year. He's done a nice job for us."

Since making his season debut on May 3 following a stint on the injured list with a left oblique strain, the 2023 All-Star has struck out 32 batters in 26 innings.

In three career appearances (two starts) against the Reds, Strider is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA.

Cincinnati will be looking forward to turning the calendar to June. The Reds have dropped three straight and are 9-17 in May with one game remaining.

Nick Lodolo (1-1, 5.57) will make his fifth start for the Reds after spending the first six weeks of the season on the shelf with a blister on his left index finger.

After allowing 12 runs across his first three starts of the year, Lodolo produced his best performance last time out. The 28-year-old left-hander yielded just one run across six frames, striking out seven in a 7-2 win over the New York Mets on Monday.

"He worked ahead, he threw a lot of strikes, had good velocity, threw some changeups," Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said of Lodolo's stellar outing. "That was really welcome."

For Lodolo, who sported a career-best 3.33 ERA in 29 appearances (28 starts) last season, he hopes that showing was a sign of things to come.

"It was definitely a lot better, for sure," Lodolo said. "There's definitely some things I've got to do a better job of, but overall, I'm happy with it."

Lodolo has faced Atlanta once in his career, scattering two runs and five hits across six innings while striking out seven in a no-decision on May 8, 2025. The Reds lost 5-4 in 11 innings.

--Field Level Media