ATLANTA -- Multihomer games have been quite common for the Braves going back to 2018, when they made the first of seven consecutive trips to the postseason. But there was still reason to celebrate the one Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson produced in a 5-3 win over the Mets on Friday night at Truist Park.
“We all love homers and we're capable of doing that,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “It's been part of our identity here for a long time.”
Harris’ two-out single in the ninth was Atlanta’s fifth hit of the night and the only one that wasn’t a home run. This marked the first time the Braves have ever hit four home runs while tallying five hits or less. The Astros did this against the Rangers on May 16. No other MLB team has constructed this rarity this year.
Olson’s second multihomer game of the year highlighted the Braves’ sixth four-homer game of the season. The team hadn’t even had a three-homer game since May 30. But truly noteworthy was that this was Atlanta’s first multihomer game within a span of 11 games going back to June 21.
Why is that noteworthy? Well, the Braves going 10-plus games without at least one multihomer game has been quite rare. Before doing this over the past couple weeks (June 21-Thursday), they hadn’t done so since doing it twice last year (May 5-15 and June 19-July 1) and once in 2024 (April 20-May 1).
The Braves’ streak of six straight division titles was snapped in 2024, and they missed the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons last year.
So, it may be better to point out the last year in which the Braves won a division title and went 10-plus games without a multihomer game was Sept. 20-30, 2018. They clinched the NL East on Sept. 22 and may have taken their foot off the pedal during that final week.
“You don’t want to depend on [home runs], but it’s definitely part of our identity,” Olson said. “We hadn’t left the yard a ton as of late.”
This series-opening win over the Mets gave the Braves just their sixth win in their past 20 games. They are 26-5 when they hit at least two homers in a game and 11-1 when they homer at least three times in a game this year.
The Braves entered Friday ranked last in the Majors with 14 homers going back to June 9, which marked the start of their 5-14 skid. But even with this three-week power drought, they still rank sixth among NL teams with 108 homers.
Olson hit a solo homer off former Braves teammate A.J. Minter in the fifth and then provided some insurance with an eighth-inning solo shot against Kodai Senga. The veteran first baseman entered the game having gone homerless over his past 16 games.
But his team-leading 22 homers put him on pace to hit 41 this season.
“Putting a couple swings on some pitches that you feel like you can hit and barrel them up and see them leave is definitely a confidence boost,” Olson said.
Albies hit a go-ahead homer in the third. His 14th homer of the season was his fourth within a span of 42 at-bats, going back to his two-homer game against the Brewers on June 20.
Harris sparked the power resurgence with the two-run homer he hit against Christian Scott in the second inning. Harris’ 15th homer of the season was his first home run since June 13 and just his second within a span of 96 at-bats going back to May 28.
“We had a lot of success early [in the season], so the past couple weeks, you don't really think too much about it,” Harris said. “We were just trying to do little things in games to get out of it. Tonight, it was about hitting homers.”