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30	Januar 2019

ATLANTA (AP) � Ronald Acuna Jr. loves being a spark

at the top of the Braves� batting order.�It�s part of my personality and the kind of baseball player that I am Gerardo Parra Jersey ,� he said through a translator. �That�s the energy I try to bring. The energy is contagious, and I just try to make sure I bring it out there and help everyone win in that way.�Acuna hit his seventh leadoff homer of the season and scored the tiebreaking run in a four-run eighth inning to help NL East-leading Atlanta beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Sunday.The 20-year-old Acuna singled off Steven Brault to begin the eighth, advanced on a bunt and scored from second on a headfirst slide after second baseman Kevin Newman errantly let Freddie Freeman�s hard grounder bounce between his legs and roll into shallow right field.Acuna�s first-inning shot was his 23rd overall and tied the franchise record for leadoff homers that Marquis Grissom set in 1996.The Braves increased their division lead over Philadelphia to four games.Ozzie Albies kept the eighth going, chasing Brault (5-3) with an RBI single to leave the bases loaded. Dovydas Neverauskas� wild pitch to Dansby Swanson added another run, and Swanson singled to make it a four-run lead.Julio Teheran pitched seven strong innings for Atlanta, giving up four hits, one run and two walks. He struck out five and has a 1.10 ERA in his last five starts.Jonny Venters (4-1) got the last out of the Pirates� eighth to earn a win in relief for the second straight game.Brault allowed four hits, one walk and three runs � one earned � in 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two.Acuna went 3 for 4. The dazzling rookie is hitting .346 with 16 homers, 31 RBIs and 36 runs scored in 42 games since he was moved to the leadoff spot. His homer on Nick Kingham�s second pitch glanced off the third-level scoreboard facade in left field.�I�m just trying to do my part by coming out with the same energy and enthusiasm and thankfully the results have been good,� Acuna said.Kingham took the rotation spot of Ivan Nova, who is away for personal reasons, and gave up four hits and one run with four strikeouts in five innings. He did not issue a walk for the first time in his last 12 starts.�He settled in, changed speeds, efficient with his pitches,� Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. �It was a good outing.�The Pirates have scored just 46 runs since Aug. 12, the fewest in the majors over that span. They went ahead in the first when Teheran issued a pair of two-out walks and Colin Moran had an RBI single.It didn�t take long for Acuna to tie it.�Every time he steps in the box in the first inning it�s like the biggest thing for us,� Teheran said. �You never know when he�s going to hit a homer http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-todd-helton-jersey , but in his first at-bat it�s like he�s got everyone�s attention, and we�re waiting for that big swing.�DREAM OPPORTUNITYRHP Touki Toussaint will make his second career start when Atlanta begins a three-game series Monday against Boston.Toussaint was chosen over fellow prospects Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright after pitching at least six innings and allowing one earned run in winning his last three starts at Triple-A Gwinnett.The Red Sox lead the majors with 94 wins, are 50 games over .500 and rank first in the majors in runs scored, batting average and slugging percentage. It will be a big jump in competition after the Haitian-American Toussaint won his debut against the struggling Miami Marlins last month.�You dream of this as a little kid,� Toussaint said. �You want to be in the World Series pitching against the best.�HE�S BACKThe Braves announced during the game that they have reacquired OF Preston Tucker from Cincinnati for cash considerations. Tucker was dealt to the Reds on July 30 in the trade that brought OF Adam Duvall to Atlanta. Duvall, who struck out as a pinch-hitter to strand two runners in scoring position in the seventh, is batting .103 with no RBIs in 25 games with the Braves.TRAINER�S ROOMAtlanta RHPs Arodys Vizcaino, sidelined 53 games with right shoulder inflammation, and Jose Ramirez, sidelined 120 games with the same diagnosis, will begin rehab assignments Monday at Gwinnett and then appear Tuesday at Single-A Rome.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Trevor Williams (11-9, 3.30 ERA) will face Matt Harvey (6-7, 4.97) as Pittsburgh opens a three-game series against Cincinnati. Williams has gone 4-2 with a 0.84 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break.Braves: Toussaint (1-0, 1.50 ERA) will make his second career start as Atlanta opens a three-game home series against Boston. Nathan Eovaldi (5-7, 4.35) pitches for the Red Sox. ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) � Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels expects to interview five to eight candidates in his search for the team�s new manager.Daniels wasn�t prepared Tuesday to talk about a list of potential candidates to replace Jeff Banister, who was fired with 10 games left in the season. But the GM talked about some of the potential characteristics he was considering in the search.�Certainly this job is managing people Nolan Arenado Jersey , personalities, egos, really develop relationships to where you can get through on a variety of different levels,� Daniels said, two days after the Rangers finished with 95 losses and last in the AL West for only the second time in 11 seasons.The only additional staff change Daniels announced was that assistant hitting coach Justin Mashore would not be back after three seasons in that role.While some assistant coaches could return, Daniels told the remaining staff, including pitching coach Doug Brocail and hitting coach Anthony Iapoce, that the team isn�t going to commit to anyone for 2019 until a new manager is in place.Daniels said the number of interviews for the manager�s job would probably be in the range of five to eight, similar to four years ago before Banister replaced Ron Washington, and could expand if there is not a good feeling about the candidates.As for whether he preferred someone older or younger, or a manager driven by analytics, Daniels said there was no �cut-and-dry answer� to that.�Everybody has information now. It�s how you use it, how you apply it, how you can decipher it and explain it in a way to help the individuals, help the team,� Daniels said. �That will be part of it, but I don�t necessarily think you have to be a certain age or a certain background to do that. It�s more people skills than anything else.�Banister and Washington were both first-time MLB managers. Banister won AL West titles each of his first two seasons Charlie Blackmon Jersey , and Washington led the Rangers to their only two World Series appearances before he abruptly resigned for personal reasons late in the 2014 season.Don Wakamatsu, the bench coach who became interim manager, is considered a candidate. He returned to Texas last November after four seasons as the bench coach in Kansas City. He previously served on the Rangers staff from 2003-07 and was a candidate when Daniels hired Washington after the 2006 season.Seven position players 25 or younger played at least 106 games this season for the Rangers.�The development of our young players who have come up through our system was a big bright spot for all of us, both in terms of the opportunity and what they did with it,� Daniels said.The Rangers also go into the offseason not knowing if future Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltre will come back for a 22nd big league season. Beltre, who turns 40 next April, has 3,166 career hits and 477 home runs.Beltre, who is not signed for 2019, has said he will spend some time with his family before taking time to make a decision.Daniels said Beltre�s situation would impact some roster decisions, and that he hasn�t talked to the third baseman about what his role would be if he decides to play another season.�I don�t have an answer as far as what date he�ll decide by, or if we need it by a certain date,� Daniels said. �At a period of time we�ll reach out, see where he�s at. We want to respect his process. � Generally speaking, without being bound by the roster, 100 percent love to have Adrian back.�