Matt Olson shines for Braves in their darkest hour

No healthy Atlanta Braves player has been as scrutinized this season as first baseman Matt Olson. But in what may be Atlanta’s biggest series of the season on the road against the New York Mets, he came through big.

Olson officially ended his bad streak Thursday, then hit back-to-back home runs against his division rival Saturday and Sunday. It was the first time he’d done that all season.

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The Braves won both games in which Olson hit a home run, snapping the team’s six-game losing streak, the Braves’ longest since 2017.

Olson has received his fair share of criticism this season, but he has kept a positive attitude despite his long stretches of cold.

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“Patience is key. Extra effort doesn’t always yield results. Sometimes it can make the wheels spin a little bit, so take a step back and learn to be patient. Learn from your failures,” Olson said.

After recently posting a .130/.214/.185 average over 30 days with 12 hits and 32 strikeouts in 92 at-bats, Olson’s bat is back on track. In 22 at-bats over the past week, he’s hitting .261/.320/.391, a marked improvement from the start of July.

The Braves recently said he was the key to reviving the team’s offense. Maybe the man who hit 54 home runs and 139 RBIs last season is finally turning the page.

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It’s too late for Olson to put up those numbers in 2024. But all that really matters is whether he can help the Braves go deeper in the playoffs than he did in his first two seasons with the team.

With the uncertain statuses of Max Fried and Reynaldo López, the team may have to rely on the offense a little more than it did in the first half of the season. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound first baseman warming up is a harbinger of the offense restarting down the stretch.