A Day for the Ages: Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. Gets Married, Then Hits Historic 30-60 Grand Slam to Beat MVP Rival Mookie Betts.vc
The 25-year-old superstar married his fiancée, Maria Laborde, in a secret morning ceremony before leading the Braves to an 8-7 victory over the Dodgers with a history-making blast.
LOS ANGELES — Ronald Acuña Jr. had a day on Thursday that will be remembered in baseball lore. The Atlanta Braves superstar got married in the morning, hit a landmark grand slam to become the first member of the 30-60 club, and ended his night by beating NL MVP rival Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers in a playoff-caliber showdown.
The Braves hung on for a thrilling 8-7 victory, but the story of the night was Acuña.
Hours before the first pitch, Acuña wed his fiancée, Maria Laborde, in a small, private ceremony at a house in the mountains about 45 minutes from the team’s hotel. The couple, who have two young sons together, got engaged in January 2023.
The wedding was so secret that it was news to his own team.
“I didn’t mention anything to anybody,” Acuña said through a translator. “It’s something that I’ve had planned out weeks ahead.”
“Holy cow,” a surprised Braves manager Brian Snitker said when told about the nuptials. “I’m better off not knowing most of this stuff, quite honestly, but congratulations to him.”
Just hours after tying the knot, the 25-year-old Acuña stepped onto the field and made history. In a six-run second inning, he sent a 429-foot shot from Dodgers pitcher Lance Lynn into the left-field pavilion for a grand slam.
The blast broke a 1-1 tie and officially made Acuña the first player in MLB history to have 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a single season. He added his 62nd stolen base in the ninth inning for good measure.
“He got married and became the first player in history to have 30 homers and 60 stolen bases,” teammate Michael Harris II said. “That’s a pretty wild day.”
Acuña, who finished the game with three hits, was overcome with emotion. “I feel very happy, I feel very special,” he said. “I’m very thankful, I feel very privileged.”
The game lived up to its billing as a duel between the two MVP front-runners. The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts did everything he could to answer, hitting two home runs (giving him a career-high 38) and driving in four runs. Twelve of the game’s 15 runs came on seven homers.
“It’s hard not to watch those two guys go head-to-head,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
“That was some kind of game,” Snitker added. “Lived up to the hype, I guess.”
With the win, the major-league-best Braves improved to 88-45. As for Acuña and his new wife, they will have to wait for a proper celebration. The superstar confirmed he hopes to postpone the honeymoon until November—”preferably after the World Series.”
