In reality, he had a much worse injury.

“That’s sad to hear, I’m just now finding out,” said Ronald Acuña through interpreter Franco García. “That’s really sad. I know what he’s going through, of course, because I went through it last year. I wish him a very speedy recovery and I hope he returns with full force next year.”

Duvall started the season as the club’s starting center fielder, but had recently shared time in left field with Eddie Rosario. Duvall is a powerhouse, but hadn’t hit his stride this season, hitting .213 with a .677 OPS. He had 12 home runs and 36 RBI’s.

But in his last 15 games, Duvall had hit .296 with an OPS of 1.045. He hit six doubles and four home runs while driving in nine runs during that period. His rise was a positive development for a Braves lineup that has consistently crushed opponents since early June.

The Braves have Rosario, but baseball operations president Alex Anthopoulos is likely to have another outfielder by the August 2 trade deadline. Since returning from the injured list, Rosario is 9-for-47 with two homeruns and five RBI’s. He has a .393 OPS this season. Duvall is a righthanded batter, so he and Rosario balanced each other.

The long-term picture may be sad for fans: it’s possible that Duvall, a post-season free agent, has played his last game in a Braves uniform. While he didn’t meet his standard this season, he was a big part of last year’s World Series run. And he’s a bat that could have gotten hot any minute.

Acquired from the Reds in 2018, Duvall has hit .280 with a .749 OPS over parts of five seasons with Atlanta. He has 54 home runs and 133 RBIs in 272 games with the club. The Braves let him go to the Marlins before taking him over again on last year’s trading deadline.

Duvall has had big moments for the Braves. Perhaps most memorable, his grand slam in Game 5 of the World Series against the Astros.

The Braves recalled infielder Mike Ford on Sunday to take Duvall’s roster spot. If the Braves Rosario start in left field, Marcell Ozuna and Heredia would be among the other outfielders on the 26-man roster. Ozuna is not a good defender and was the designated batter of the team. Heredia is 8-for-63 with three homeruns this season.

Before Duvall’s injury, the Braves’ group of positional players appeared to be stuck for the most part. They are one of baseball’s most talented lineups, even without Duvall hitting like he has in the past.

Now all eyes are on Anthopoulos, who has a reputation for taking the necessary steps to put his team in position for post-season runs.

Michael Harris and his hobbies

Michael Harris went golfing for three days last week. Of course, this usually doesn’t happen — it only happened this time because Harris was enjoying the All-Star vacation.

Usually the agenda is too busy. Before that, he hadn’t played golf for almost two months.

“Had a bit of rust the first time,” Harris said. “It was good to go out, get away from baseball a little bit.”

Out-of-bounds hobbies are beneficial when playing a sport that is such a daily grind. In addition to golf, Harris enjoys bowling and playing video games.

“You have to do other things to clear your head because baseball can wear you out if you think about it too much,” Harris said. “If things don’t go the way you want, it can really wear you out and cause more failures. Just find other things to distract your mind, it’s actually really good.”

Harris said he is a “good enough” bowler. He started bowling more often when he got his bowling balls in 2020 and estimated his highest score at 274 or 276.

Speaking to reporters in March, he said he hit a 347-meter drive on the golf course. Harris’ friend recently told him that the ball may have gone farther.

“He heard the interview and he said it might be 370 because it had a little help from the cart track, if you know what I mean,” Harris said.

Austin Riley’s Big Change

In just a few years, Austin Riley has developed into a great hitter.

When asked what he’s doing now that he didn’t when he debuted in 2019, Riley said this Saturday: “I think I can make those in-game adjustments when pitchers make the adjustments on me. I think that’s been the most important thing. , just the daily game schedule on a pitcher and understand what they are trying to do to me.”

Riley came in on Sunday with a 15-game streak. He had 28 home runs and 63 RBI’s.

“You see (the numbers), but I try not to think about it,” Riley said. “I’m trying to go out and just throw good at bats and let everything else take care of itself.”

Braves Chase Mets

After playing June 1, the Braves were 10½ games behind the Mets. They came in half a game behind New York on Sunday.

Before that, the Braves’ smallest deficit in the division was one game back, which they had after the game on April 12.

If the Braves win the division in a few months, they will have cleared their biggest deficit to win a division title. Their current record is clearing a 10-game deficit in 1993.

After Saturday’s game, Snitker said he looks at the standings “occasionally” at this time of year.

“This is the time of year when the games are all big,” said Snitker.