The name Acuña on a baseball uniform strikes fear into the hearts of the basepaths. Pitchers know it, but nothing can stop him when he's healthy. The Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros experienced this firsthand on Wednesday during the second game of their respective Wild Card Series against the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago White Sox.
Ronald and Luisangel became the first pair of brothers in postseason history —according to data from Elias Sports Bureau— to record multiple stolen bases each in the same playoff year, achieving it on the same day and in the same inning of their games.
To date, only two other pairs of brothers possessed multiple combined stolen bases in their postseason careers: Americans Bret (5) and Aaron Boone (2), along with Cubans Yuli (5) and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (2).
Read also: The San Diego Padres qualify with Bradgley Rodriguez's victory
Agility on the pads
In the first inning of Atlanta's 4-3 loss in 10 innings, Ronald received a walk, stole second base and then third before scoring on a Matt Olson single with two outs on the board.
Luisangel entered the game as a pinch runner for Andrew Benintendi in the sixth inning of the White Sox's 7-3 victory over the Astros. He also stole second and third bases, later scoring on a three-run homer by Chase Meidroth, which completed the sweep for the Chicago team.
Certainly, only one of the brothers was able to celebrate the victory and qualification for the Division Series, but together they made history in the Majors by demonstrating how their dynamism can change the course of a baseball game.
