The bomb came in the bottom of the first inning when San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta laid a 92 miles per hour fastball right down the middle.
Acuna went on the injured list (IL) last season after tearing his ACL, which took him a surprisingly short time to recover from of just 10 months.
After being ruled a healthy scratch on Thursday night for the Braves' Triple-A minor league affiliate team, the Gwinnett Stripers, Acuna was able to travel to Atlanta to be part of the lineup on Friday.
“He’s been doing nothing but working out,” said Braves Manager Brian Snitker. “The knee’s fine, it’s about the rest of his body. He’s in great shape. He’s lean. He’s feeling really - the biggest thing was to hear from him, how his body feels. After last night, he said his body felt great.”
Acuna, one of the most decorated young stars in baseball, won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2023, won Rookie of the Year in 2018, is a three-time Silver Slugger, and a four-time All-Star.
During his MVP season, Acuna led all of baseball in hits (217), stolen bases (73), and on-base percentage (.416), while hitting 41 home runs and 106 RBI with a stellar .337 batting average.
The seven-year veteran and one of the league's best players will look to give an Atlanta Braves team the spark they need as they currently sit with a 24-26 record heading into Friday's game against the Padres.