August 29 – Ronald Acuna Jr. homered among his four hits, stole two bases, drove in five runs and was involved in an unsavory incident involving fans on the field as the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 14-4 in Denver on Monday night.

Ahead of the bottom of the seventh inning, a fan ran to Acuna in right field and put his arms around the Braves star. Security officials tried to pull the man off the four-time All-Star as another fan ran into the scrum, and Acuna was knocked to the ground.

Both fans were taken away and Acuna stayed in the game.

Acuna socked his 29th homer and raised his major-league-leading steal total to 61. He is one homer away from logging the first 30-60 season in big-league history.

Austin Riley also homered and finished with two hits and three RBIs for Atlanta. Sean Murphy and Orlando Arcia had three hits apiece, and Marcell Ozuna and Michael Harris II each had two hits.

Ryan McMahon homered among his two hits and Charlie Blackmon and Hunter Goodman also had two hits for Colorado.

Rockies starter Austin Gomber left the game in the third inning with an undisclosed injury.

Braves starter Bryce Elder (11-4) allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked one.

McMahon gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead with his 22nd homer of the season in the first, but Atlanta went in front in the third on Riley’s 31st blast, a two-run shot.

Colorado tied it in the fourth inning when Goodman hit a wind-blown double that allowed Nolan Jones to score from first.

Acuna gave the Braves a 4-2 lead with a two-run homer off Karl Kauffmann (1-4) in the fifth.

Colorado answered in the bottom of the inning. Michael Toglia and Blackmon singled around a strikeout, Ezequiel Tovar singled to right to drive in Toglia and McMahon hit a sacrifice fly to left.

Atlanta went back ahead in the sixth. Murphy doubled with one out, went to third on Arcia’s single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Pillar to make it 5-4.

The Braves expanded the lead in the seventh.

Acuna led off with a single, stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on Riley’s single. Following a wild pitch and a walk, Tommy Doyle replaced Evan Justice on the mound. Ozuna greeted Doyle with an RBI single, then after a wild pitch, Murphy hit a run-scoring double and came home on Arcia’s single.

Atlanta added five more runs in the ninth. Pillar had an RBI single before Acuna drove in three with a double and then scored on an error by Toglia in right field.

–Field Level Media