The Atlanta Braves suffered a gigantic blow with the announcement that All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. of La Guaira, Venezuela is out for the remainder of the 2024 Major League Baseball season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. 

The reigning National League Most Valuable Player is without a doubt the heart and soul of the entire Atlanta organization. 

Acuna Jr. has had ACL injuries before which caused him to miss time in 2018, 2021 and 2022.

Acuna Jr. was in between second and third base during the first inning on Sunday in an 8-1 Braves win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, when he had a fake break to third base, stopped and tried to get back to second base. In the process, Acuna Jr. went down, favored his knee,  and did not return to the lineup. 

In 48 games this season, Acuña Jr. slashed .246/.348/.356 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

The Mets insist they still have a run in them. If they’re going to go on one, they have to beat certain teams, with the rebuilding Washington Nationals being one of them.

They took care of business Wednesday at Nationals Park with a 9-1 win to complete a three-game series sweep. It was their fifth win in the seven games since they held a players-only meeting.

Luis Severino gave the Mets some much-needed length with eight innings of one-run baseball. A beleaguered bullpen didn’t have to worry about a save situation or any tense late-game pitching performances with the Mets beating up on left-hander Patrick Corbin and right-hander Jordan Weems, taking all nine runs off of the two Washington hurlers, including a six-run sixth inning that sunk the Nats (27-34).

“We won three games in a row and we got a chance to win four,” Severino told reporters after the game. “When we combine hitting and pitching at the same time, it’s huge for us. We have this mentality now that we have to go out there and give 100 percent every time.”

The Stanley Cup Final will feature the Florida Panthers of the Eastern Conference and Edmonton Oilers of the Western Conference in a best-of-7 series.

Oilers: 49-27-6, 104 points; defeated Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in first round, Vancouver Canucks 4-3 in second round, Dallas Stars 4-2 in conference final

Panthers: 52-24-6, 110 points; defeated Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 in first round, Boston Bruins 4-2 in second round, New York Rangers 4-2 in conference final

Season series: FLA 2-0-0; EDM 0-2-0

Connor McDavid has been a man on a mission. The Florida Panthers have been a team on a mission.

Their paths will collide when McDavid and the Oilers take on the  Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.