Ronald Acuña Jr. leaves Braves' 8-1 win over Pirates with sore left knee

Ronald Acuña Jr. left the Atlanta Braves’ 8-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first inning on Sunday with left knee soreness, and Chris Sale improved to 8-1 by allowing four hits over seven innings.

Acuña, the reigning NL MVP, led off with a double to right-center field off Martín Pérez. With Marcell Ozuna at the plate, Acuña started toward third on a stolen base attempt and his left knee gave way. Acuña remained down for several minutes while being treated, pointing at his left leg before walking off under his own power.

Wearing a brace on his knee in the clubhouse, Acuña said he would have an MRI on Sunday night and expects to be placed on the 10-day injured list.

"I got scared a lot because I felt the pain in the beginning," Acuña said through a translator. "Hopefully, everything is going to go well."

Jarred Kelenic went 3 for 4 in place of Acuña, a 26-year-old outfielder batting .250 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 49 games.

Sale struck out eight and allowed one run in another impressive outing for the 35-year-old left-hander, who has regained the form that earned him seven straight All-Star selections from 2012-18 before a string of injuries.

"Just doing what I need to do," Sale said. "We all have our part on the team. Just posting every fifth day and trying to keep runs off the board. ... Take every start, you want to win. Had a couple rough ones over the last couple days. You want to end on a good note heading back home."

Matt Olson had three RBIs with a home run and a double to salvage the final game of the three-game series.

Pérez allowed one run, four hits and two walks in three innings before a left groin injury. The 33-year-old left-hander was checked after Kelenic beat him to first for a one-out