In 2023, the best recipe for being a major league hitter is obviously to wear an Atlanta Braves uniform. Sure, the club is full of big hitters, but it’s fascinating to see each of them having such a big season.
Because having a ton of good hitters is certainly not a guarantee of success, word of the San Diego Padres.
And at first base, Matt Olson is the ultimate power hitter. The former Athletics had 48 home runs before his second game of the day yesterday (the Braves played a doubleheader), and against the Phillies, he showed that he had enough of forty long balls.
In the third round, with his Braves trailing by four points, Olson released his best golf swing to catapult a Michael Lorenzen offering into the stands.
In one fell swoop, he brought the deficit down to a single point.
Clearly, Olson had no intention of stopping there: in the sixth inning, with the Braves Again trailing by four points, he came to bat to face this same Lorenzen.
And in one fell swoop, he became the first major league hitter this season to reach 50 home runs.
He didn’t have the chance to do it in front of his fans in Atlanta, of course, but he probably won’t complain too much: it’s a feat worthy of mention for one of the big hitters of the best MLB roster.
What he could complain about, however, is the performance of his teammates. Aside from his four RBIs, only Michael Harris II allowed a runner to cross the plate for the Braves.
And with Kyle Wright (six earned runs in three innings) having a bad one in the system, the Braves lost by a score of 7-5.
Obviously, with a 94-50 record, the Braves can afford to lose games. It’s not a defeat against the Phillies that will change anything in the final result of their season, especially since their closest pursuers at the top of the Nationals, the Dodgers, are lagging behind.
The question now is whether anyone can join Olson as a 50-homer hitter. Injuries seem to have taken a toll on Shohei Ohtani’s chances (he’s currently at 44 homers), but Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber (43 homers each) still have a chance.
Until then, let’s give Olson credit for a dream season: he’s a big part of the Braves’ offense and the 50 home run mark is good proof of that.
- 30/30 season for Julio Rodriguez.
- Blue Jays defeat against Texas. They lost the game, Brandon Belt…and their fans. Were they watching the Bills?
- Shohei Ohtani didn’t play yesterday, after all.
- Ross Stripling is expected to stay in San Francisco.
