WOW! Acuña denies Lara extra bases on 92.3 mph throw from right field

MILWAUKEE -- Luis Lara thought he had a double.

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Leading off in the fifth inning, Lara shot an 81 mph slider from Chris Sale down the right-field line and took off for second as the ball raced toward the corner. Acuña cut it off before it reached the wall, spun and unleashed a 92.3 mph throw that traveled on a line to Mauricio Dubón’s glove just in front of second base, erasing Lara as he tried to stretch the hit.

The throw was about as clean as it gets. So clean, in fact, that both Venezuelan outfielders seemed to appreciate what had just happened. Acuña and Lara exchanged smirks after the play, a brief moment of mutual recognition after Acuña turned what looked like an easy extra-base hit into an out.

And according to manager Walt Weiss, Lara wasn’t wrong for thinking he had two.

“I’m not surprised that he tried to stretch it into a double because, I mean, 99 times out of 100, that’s a double,” Weiss said.

The other one time?

Apparently, when Acuña is standing in right field.

“Acuña -- that’s probably the best outfield arm in the game,” Weiss said. “We’ve seen him do it several times. It’s not only the strength, but it’s the accuracy. I mean, it’s a phenomenal throw.”

For Lara, getting thrown out at second came with a pretty good consolation prize. The 22-year-old rookie got an up-close look at the arm of a player he has long admired.

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“In the moment, all I’m thinking there is try to find a way to get on second base,” Lara said through interpreter Daniel de Mondesert. “It was incredible. He definitely is my favorite player, so, great player, a tremendous talent. It’s fun to think back on it now.”

That made the exchange of smiles afterward all the more fitting. One Venezuelan outfielder was trying to create a spark for the Brewers. The other -- his favorite player -- had just taken it away with a throw Lara could only appreciate afterward.

For Acuña, the play was another reminder that his impact extends well beyond what he does at the plate. With Atlanta’s offense still searching for its first breakthrough against Jacob Misiorowski, Acuña created one with his arm instead.

That mattered even more as the afternoon unfolded. Sale spent much of his six innings pitching with traffic, allowing eight singles but limiting the Brewers to two runs. Acuña’s throw eliminated the leadoff runner in the fifth and helped Sale keep Milwaukee from adding on.

Atlanta eventually cut the deficit to one in the eighth and brought the potential tying run to second in the ninth before falling, 2-1.

In a game decided by one run, Acuña made sure one seemingly certain double never became one.