Ronald Acuna Jr. will return from knee surgery that has kept him out for nearly a year when the Atlanta Braves open a three-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres.

“It’ll be good, he feels ready and that’s great,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It’ll be great to get him back in the lineup.”

Acuna tore the his left knee anterior cruciate ligament on May 26, 2024, and underwent surgery less than two weeks later.

In six minor league rehab games this year, one in Class-A and five in Triple-A, Acuna batted .400 (6-for-15) with two home runs and two doubles. Acuna was the 2023 National League MVP after hitting .337 with 41 homers, 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases. He led the league in steals, hits (217), on-base percentage (.416) and OPS (1.012).

The Padres have lost six in a row and are coming off a three-game sweep at Toronto. The Braves were just swept in a rain-shortened two-game series in Washington.

This is the second meeting of the season between the teams. Host San Diego swept Atlanta in a four-game set to open the season, sending the Braves spiraling to an 0-7 start. The Padres began 7-0.

The Friday pitching matchup features Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale (2-3, 3.62 ERA) and San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta (5-2, 2.86).

Sale will have the benefit of six days of rest. The last time he worked on more than four days of rest, he fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds on May 6.

Sale has resembled his 2024 Cy Young Award-winning form over his past six appearances, going 2-1 with a 2.02 ERA while striking out 48 and walking 11 over 35 2/3 innings. In his most recent outing on May 16, Sale worked seven innings, allowed one run and struck out eight against the Boston Red Sox, his former team.

“I saw from the first inning, you could tell there was a little something special,” Snitker said.

Sale has dominated the Padres in his career, going 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in five starts. He faced San Diego in the season opener and did not get a decision after permitting three runs in five innings. He fanned seven.

Pivetta bounced back from his worst outing of the season (six runs in four-plus innings against the Colorado Rockies) to fire six strong innings versus the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. He allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Pivetta has made 22 appearances and 18 starts against the Braves, going 9-5 with a 4.61 ERA. He pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while beating Atlanta 5-0 on March 30.

The Padres have been mired in a hitting slump. They have scored only nine runs during their losing streak, with most of those coming in a 7-6, 11-inning loss on Thursday. The Blue Jays shut them out in the first two games of the series.

The exception has been Luis Arraez. He was 2-for-5 in the finale at Toronto, giving him a nine-game hitting streak and raising his average to .304. It was his 15th multi-hit game of the year.

“I haven’t changed anything,” Arraez said. “I’ve kept myself mentally strong, which is important, and I’m coming here to play ball and enjoy it. This is a difficult game, but like I always say, it’s not impossible. We’re working every day to get better, and that’s what I’m doing these days.”

–Field Level Media