Brave homer three times in inning, two pitchers reach victory milestone

Five observations:

1. It might have been the Braves’ biggest moment of the season. This perfectly captures this attack’s ability to break an opponent’s spirit.

With two outs in the third inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. took over to face Mets starter Jose Quintana.

Acuña pulverized a baseball, immediately sending it 461 feet to center.

The next batter, Ozzie Albies, homered.

The next batter, Austin Riley, walked.

The next batter, Matt Olson, homered.

Homer. Homer. To walk. Homer. Quintana could have limited it to a single two-out solo shot, but instead left the mound to boos from the home crowd.

“I was happy, I was happy,” Acuña said through interpreter Franco García of him and his teammates hitting three home runs in four at-bats. “Especially knowing that obviously as hitters we’ve been through some tough times. But it’s a long season and our times are going to come.

It was aimless. Then the Braves led 4-0. In a few minutes. It was also fast.

Innings like this are the product of what manager Brian Snitker preached when his guys were struggling: They always worked hard, he said. They were doing everything they could to succeed.

“That’s how this product happens, these guys never take their foot off the pedal,” Snitker said. “They’re constantly working, they’re constantly trying to figure things out. It’s never, “Woe is me,” it’s always, “I’m going to understand and get better.” »

2. Let’s give some context to all of this.

Olson: It was his first home run since April 7th. He played 26 matches without any. It was the only 26-game home run streak of his career, and he has been a full-time big league player since 2018.

Acuña and Albies: Through the first 33 games of the season, the Braves have never hit back-to-back home runs. After Acuña and Albies did so on Friday, the Braves faced each other in back-to-back games.

The Braves: Before Friday, they had not hit a home run in 12 of their 34 games. The Braves’ season record for home runs is four, hit twice. They have launched at least three home runs in a game five times.

Acuña: His 461-foot home run is tied for fourth among major home runs this season. It’s only his third homer, but he said it’s been a while since he’s felt this good. He said the bullets barely avoided his barrel. “Honestly, that’s the part that frustrates me a little bit, knowing that I’m just missing a little bit,” he said. “But I’m confident that obviously as we continue to work, things are going to get better as the days go by.”

Maybe just one shot could help Olson and Acuña warm up.

“Well, it’s possible,” Snitker said. “You solve it like that and you feel good, and it’s amazing what that will do for a hitter. One shot and one result can be huge for a guy.

3. Braves starter Charlie Morton reached a milestone: He eclipsed 2,000 career innings. It’s amazing.

Of course, the humble Morton downplayed it at first. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer – guys of his generation – pitched many more innings.

But no. We won’t let Morton sell himself short. He deserves his congratulations.

What is he most proud of in his career?

“I don’t know,” Morton said. “I think having had multiple surgeries in a short period of time – probably four or five surgeries in four or five years – I think of things like that, where I was patting myself on the back a little bit, a little bit like: ‘You’re crushing it. But then I think looking back, I just think I was blessed. I think I was lucky. I think a lot of things went my way, even though I sometimes felt like they didn’t go my way.

“And now I’m in my 20s and, shoot, I can still throw the ball hard, I can still spin it, and not a lot of guys can at that age. So, I think it’s just luck. A lot of it is down to luck. Being able to stay relatively healthy and having time and a little grace to figure things out. I probably prepared myself, I probably did most of the things right that I needed to do, but in reality, so many things had to go my way.

After his debut in 2008, Morton didn’t burst onto the scene. He fought. And since then he has suffered different injuries. It took him a long time to solidify himself in the majors.

Nearly 16 years after his debut in the majors, Morton, now 40, is still there. He is an example of how a pitcher can reach new heights by reinventing himself.

After seven one-run innings – his only blemish, a seventh-inning solo homer by Francisco Lindor – Morton has a 3.14 ERA.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

4. In the visitors’ clubhouse after Friday’s game, a baseball in a small case sat in Raisel Iglesias’ locker. It commemorates his 200th career save, which he recorded in this victory.

“I feel very satisfied,” Iglesias said through García. “It was definitely a goal I set for myself before, and I’m just happy I was able to accomplish it. And more, I feel really happy that I was able to make this on my wife’s birthday. I was able to afford to give him this gift.

Iglesias is the fifth active pitcher – joining Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Diaz – in the 200 save club.

5. As of Friday, the Braves’ 2.89 ERA in their last 23 games, dating back to April 12, was the third-best mark in baseball, behind Seattle (2.54) and the Dodgers (2.67).

Braves’ ERA in last 24 games, after Friday’s win: 2.86.

Since April 20 against Texas, the Braves pitching staff has held opponents to two runs or less nine times in 17 games.

We’ve talked a lot about the offense’s struggles, but the Braves’ pitching has been excellent. Weapons give this club a chance to win most of the time.

Stat to know

3 – The Braves had not smashed three home runs in an inning since June 27, 2023, against the Twins. They had three in the first inning of this game. The Braves are the third team to hit three home runs in a single inning this season.

Quotable

“There’s no need to put pressure on yourself or start getting into your head. We have confidence in ourselves, we know that it will continue. It’s going to be a long season, so keep going. » – Acuña on where the Braves stand

Following

On Saturday, the Braves’ Max Fried will face right-hander Christian Scott. The game starts at 4:10 p.m.