It certainly was a series to forget for Ronald Acuña Jr.
The Atlanta Braves were eliminated from the postseason Wednesday with a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS. Acuña finished the night 0-for-3, capping a miserable series in which the former MVP went 2-for-15 with four strikeouts.
"I feel like I did nothing to help the team this series," Acuña said through an interpreter. "You know, I'm supposed to be a spark plug for my team out there, and I never lit that fire. And so, extremely disappointed."
Acuña's struggles weren't limited to the series against the Dodgers, as the 28-year-old went 1-for-9 with two punchouts in three games against the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild-card series. He's now gone 15 straight postseason games without an RBI, dating back to 2020.
Braves fans at Truist Park vented their frustration Wednesday, booing Acuña after he grounded out to end the seventh inning.
"It's really frustrating because they're well within their rights to boo and to say what they think and feel," Acuña said. "I didn't do anything, so they're well within their right. It's frustrating."
Acuña's playoff struggles come after a regular season in which he was limited to 107 games due to hamstring injuries. While he still managed another 20-20 season, his .796 OPS was the third-worst mark of his nine-year career, while his 120 wRC+ and 1.8 fWAR were the second-lowest.
The Braves hold a $17-million club option on Acuña in each of the next two seasons before he's set to hit free agency after the 2028 season.
"I want to stay here, that hasn't changed," Acuña said, according to Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "But I can't control that."
Acuña wasn't the only one to blame for Atlanta's offensive shortcomings against the Dodgers. A number of key contributors failed to produce as Austin Riley, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin combined to go 3-for-43 with 17 strikeouts.
