ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the most majestic home run as the Braves ran their winning streak to 10 games with a 3-2 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday night at Truist Park. But the game’s two most satisfying homers were hit by Michael Harris II.
“It feels good,” Harris said. “I guess the past week I’ve been working on something specific, and I’ve got some good results the past two days. We’re just winning some good baseball games. So that’s kind of the whole goal there, just trying to feel good and win baseball games.”
The Braves aren’t going to the postseason for the first time since Harris was beginning his junior year at suburban Atlanta’s Stockbridge High School in 2017. But while winning 10 straight games for the first time since ‘22, they are distancing themselves from a season-opening 0-7 road trip and the many other struggles endured over the past few months.
This late-season surge has given the Braves reason to feel good about returning next year with a healthy Acuña, who has reached the 20-homer mark despite being sidelined a little more than two months by multiple injuries. His latest blast was the Statcast-projected 433-foot solo homer he hit into the right-center-field seats off Brad Lord in the sixth.
It was the second-longest opposite-field home run in the Majors this season, trailing only the Statcast-projected 436-foot shot the Yankees’ Aaron Judge hit against the Red Sox on June 8.
“I know there's a lot of lefties in this league that wish they could hit the ball like that, and he does it from the right side,” Harris said. “It’s impressive.”
Harris and Hurston Waldrep both said they wished every fan would get a chance to see Acuña hit similar opposite-field shots in batting practice every day. This latest homer backed Waldrep, who ended his strong rookie season by limiting the Nationals to one run over six innings. He posted a 2.88 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts) and seemingly penciled himself into the season-opening rotation for next year.
Of course, Harris is an example of how immediate success doesn’t guarantee sustained success at the big league level. The 2022 National League Rookie of the Year has battled through inconsistent seasons, none more than the current one, which took an upturn on Tuesday when he ended a homerless streak of 94 at-bats (going back to his final at-bat on Aug. 27) by homering in consecutive at-bats of this win.
Harris hit a one-out solo homer off Lord to right-center in the fifth then drilled a solo shot off Konnor Pilkington to center in the seventh. Just one – a Statcast-projected 444 feet off Lord – traveled farther than Acuña’s opposite-field shot.
“I got so much respect for [Harris],” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Through the ups and downs of the offensive struggles and adjustments and everything, he keeps playing defense, keeps winning games on that side of the ball. So you like to see him do something like he did tonight.”
Harris’ sixth career two-homer game and first since Sept. 19, 2024, might propel him to at least enter the offseason encouraged by a strong final week.
Harris entered the All-Star break ranked last among qualified MLB players with a .551 OPS. He rebounded impressively, ranking third among qualifiers with a 1.139 OPS from July 18-Aug. 19. But he entered Tuesday having constructed an ugly .452 OPS over his past 31 games going back to Aug. 20.
How do you deal with this kind of roller-coaster season?
“You can’t think about the past, and you sure can’t get caught up in the future,” Harris said. “So it's really just being where your feet are and being better than you were yesterday.”
Harris is 7-for-13 with two doubles and two homers over his past three games. His success has been influenced by some mechanical adjustments.
“When I had my second-half surge, my body kind of got used to those mechanics, and I didn't notice it,” Harris said. “So I started to squat a little bit in my load. So now I'm trying to stay a little taller, hinge my hips and to be in a stronger position, to see the ball longer and keep my head still.”