Harris flirts with cycle in October breakout for hometown Braves

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Harris II watched the Braves’ 2021 World Series run from the stands at Truist Park, cheering on his future teammates as a fan.

Five years later, Harris put them on his back in the Braves’ 3-2 win in Sunday’s Game 2 of the now-tied National League Division Series against the Dodgers.

The 25-year-old went 3-for-5 and finished a homer short of what would have been only the second cycle in MLB postseason history. He tripled and scored the Braves’ go-ahead run in the fifth and knocked an RBI double in the seventh for a key insurance run.

“It means a lot, just knowing I was there in that situation [in ‘21] watching, I guess [Austin] Riley was kind of the only one that was still on the team, Riley and Ozzie [Albies],” Harris said. “Watching [Riley] hit the walk-off and being there for that, just chanting ‘MVP’ for him. Now we're here in the playoffs trying to do the same thing.

“It means a lot, and now I'm out on the field to be able to wear that jersey in front of the city that I grew up in, and I was once sitting in those seats. Yeah, it feels good.”

Harris became the fifth player in Braves history with a double and a triple in the same postseason game, joining:

Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019 NLDS G4)
Mark DeRosa (2002 NLDS G2)
Mark Lemke (1991 WS G4)
Hank Gowdy (1914 WS G1)

His triple was unconventional, too, coming on an 86 mph sweeper off the plate. Harris got the end of his bat on the ball and poked it into left field, where Teoscar Hernández misplayed it. The ball left the bat with a .016 xBA.

“I knew I didn't fully get it. I knew I was slicing away from them,” Harris said. “As I got closer to first, I was kind of blocked by his body. So I didn't know if he caught it or not. Then I [saw] it bounce off the wall, and I just had to keep digging to third.”

Dodgers reliever Kris Bubic said he executed the pitch how he intended, but Harris got to it anyway.

“I know he’s a guy that can make a lot of contact outside the zone,” Bubic said. “Glad that he offered on it, because that was the chase kind of pitch we wanted there. ... He’s someone that excels on pitches outside the zone. He can get to pitches that other hitters can’t and he did. He got enough of that to slice it down the line and find a spot on the field where it could roll around a little bit to get to third.”

Harris is coming off his best season since his 2022 Rookie of the Year campaign, posting a slash line of .294/.321/.491 with an .812 OPS. He set career highs in hits (174), home runs (26), RBIs (87) and doubles (36). He finished fifth in the NL in hits, tied for fourth in doubles and sixth in average, and could garner some down-ballot MVP votes.

Harris had already authored a signature moment this postseason, starting off Thursday’s decisive Wild Card Series Game 3 with a first-inning three-run home run to pave the way for a 6-2 Braves win over the Phillies.

And Sunday’s offensive showcase came at just the right time, too. Atlanta’s top four hitters -- Drake Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Albies -- combined to go 2-for-15 at the plate with four strikeouts (and five walks).

“Michael had a great game, man. He had a great game,” said manager Walt Weiss. “Postseason, you never know what's going to happen. There's no blueprint. There's no playbook. There seems to always be unsung heroes in the postseason.

“Michael has been a good player all year. He's had a helluva year for us. But especially the top half of our lineup, it's really good. It's dangerous. If those guys have a quiet night, most likely it's going to be someone else, and tonight was Michael Harris.”

In the ninth, Harris stepped to the plate with a chance at more postseason lore. Brock Holt’s cycle for the Red Sox in the 2018 ALDS remains the only one in playoff history, and with the often-elusive triple out of the way, Harris just needed the long ball.

“I was aware, but I wasn't necessarily going for it,” he said. “I knew it was a close game, and we still needed to get some runs and just find a way to get on base. Yeah, I was aware, but no [I wasn’t trying to hit a home run].”

Cycle or not, Sunday was a statement game from one of Atlanta’s most dangerous -- and sometimes overlooked -- hitters.