Atlanta BravesoutfielderRonald Acuña Jr.couldn't have scripted his return any better. Acuña, who earnedthe 2023 NL MVP awardafter becoming the first player to record at least40 home runs and 70 stolen basesin a season, suffered aseason-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuryon May 26, 2024. Acuña went down after he appeared to twist awkwardly while on the base path, marking his second major knee injury in four seasons. Friday's matchup between theBravesand theSan Diego Padresmarked Acuña's first game back on the field in nearly a year. Acuña led off for the Braves in the bottom of the first inning and went yard on the first pitch from Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta. Acuña dropped his bat and took a page out ofMemphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant's book.Acuña did Morant's grenade celebration, throwing an imaginary grenade and covering his ears as the crowd erupted in applause. HE IS BACK.Ronald Acuña Jr. homers on the first pitch he sees!pic.twitter.com/LZgwO3b8kZ — MLB (@MLB)May 23, 2025 Acuña's 467-foot homer marked the Braves' only run of the entire game. They ultimately lost 2-1 to the Padres and dropped to 24-26 on the season. Acuña made headlines earlier this month aftermaking a controversial social media post, where he accusedAtlanta Bravesmanager Brian Snitker of having a double standard.Acuña was critical of Snitker in a viral post on April 19when he didn't remove Braves outfielder Jarred Kelenic from the game for not hustling after he didn't run out a ball and was tagged out at second. "If it were me, they would take me out of the game," Acuña wrote. Ronald Acũna Jr. hit the Ja Morant grenade celebration after his home run 🔥💣pic.twitter.com/2J1OeDXKtM — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints)May 23, 2025 He deleted the post and issued an apology to Snitker and his team, admitting that he was frustrated with being away from the team while working his way back from injury. "I was just frustrated with my situation in the sense of my being able to return to the team," said Acuña. "I'm coming off a second major injury. I'm in Florida away from my teammates, the team is struggling. Those were sort of the things that were frustrating me. … I wanna be here (in Atlanta) my whole career. So just seeing the team and my teammates going through that and not being able to help and not being able to be with them was where the frustration was coming from." Contributing: Scott Boeck The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Ronald Acuña Jr. homers in return, does Ja Morant grenade celebration
