Luisangel Acuña, the younger brother of Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., had two hits in his major league debut with the New York Mets on Saturday.
Luisangel Acuña was called up from Triple-A Syracuse and played shortstop in Philadelphia, batting ninth. He hit a single to lead off the fourth inning against Taijuan Walker and another single to lead off the ninth inning against Carlos Estévez.
“Good to see him fight and get us going in the ninth,” manager Carlos Mendoza said after New York’s 6-4 loss. “I thought he was good.”
Acuña, who is 22, is one of New York’s top prospects. He had a .258 batting average and stole 40 bases while playing second base, shortstop, and center field with Syracuse.
Acuña joined the Mets when they traded Max Scherzer to Texas in July 2023. Outfielder DJ Stewart was sent down to make room for Acuña on the Mets’ roster.
The Mets are competing with Atlanta, Arizona, and San Diego for three NL wild card spots. New York was in the third wild card position as of Saturday, one game ahead of Atlanta and one game behind Arizona.
Acuña was promoted the day after star shortstop Francisco Lindor left Friday night’s 11-3 win against the Phillies in the seventh inning due to lower back soreness. Mendoza said the move was just precautionary, and he chose to give Lindor an extra day of rest and recovery.
Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil was placed on the 10-day injured list last weekend with a right wrist fracture. He was injured when he was hit by a pitch on September 6.
