ATLANTA – When Michael Harris II was selected by the Braves in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft, perhaps the Atlanta-area native envisioned a clutch hit or two for his hometown club.
It’s doubtful, though, that the then 18-year-old center fielder could have predicted how his game-winning hit came about in Friday’s 5-3 win against the Phillies at Truist Park.
Harris, who was scratched from Atlanta’s starting lineup with left quad tightness just hours before Friday’s series opener against Philadelphia, got the pinch-hit nod from manager Walt Weiss as the Braves trailed 3-2 with two on and two out in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Harris made sure Weiss wouldn’t regret his decision. He struck a go-ahead two-run double to left-center field off Philadelphia starting pitcher Andrew Painter.
“In a situation like that, if I was needed, I was available to go out there and try to get it done,” Harris said.
Prior to Friday, Harris had only made four pinch-hit appearances in his career, going 2-for-3 with a walk. After his clutch double in the series opener, he has a 1.800 OPS (.750/.800/1.000 slash line) off the bench.
Aside from the fact that Harris was thrown into the game’s most crucial moment as a bat off the bench, the at-bat’s pressure was compounded by the 39,627 fans who sold out Truist Park for the 200th time in the regular season in stadium history.
“I felt a lot of emotion and stuff from the crowd,” Harris said. “It was really loud in a big situation.”
Weiss had no reservations about sending Harris to the plate in a pinch.
“If the situation showed itself, I was [going to] use him,” Weiss said. “Right there in the sixth, that was probably the only time we could have guaranteed that he was [going to] face a right-handed pitcher. Later in the game, they were going to have somebody up for him. He was ready for that moment and got a huge hit for us.”
Harris is now 2-for-2 with a home run and a double against Painter as the right-handed Painter made his fifth career appearance on Friday. Harris hit a solo home run off Painter in Atlanta's 4-2 win over the Phillies on Sunday night.
“I faced [Painter] last week and kind of knew what he had,” Harris said. “I just went up there and tried to put my best swing on it. It was a good thing we faced him recently – his last outing, actually.”
After the double, Harris was pinch-run for by Jorge Mateo, while Mauricio Dubón slid into center field in the top of the seventh.
Harris, who was removed from Thursday’s 7-2 win over the Nationals after his left quad tightened as he ran to second base with a seventh-inning RBI double, said he didn’t recall whether or not he felt pain running to second on Friday.
“I couldn’t even tell you [if I felt pain],” Harris said. “I was worried about the ball getting down.”
Weiss said Harris’ late scratch was out of an abundance of caution. Harris, who did running drills and was tested prior to Friday’s game and felt tightness after, will undergo similar workouts and tests prior to Saturday’s game.
“[The plan is] to get some rest and see how it feels,” Harris said. “I had treatment [Friday], and I got my one at-bat and got out of there. I’ll come in and see how it feels [Saturday].”
Weiss gave no indication about Harris’ status for Saturday.
“We’ll put him through the tests again [Saturday],” Weiss said. “We’re [going to] be cautious here. The soft-tissue stuff can be tricky. We want to use good judgment here. I’m hoping he can play [Saturday] for sure.”
Harris entered April 10 hitting .213 with a .543 OPS. The 2022 National League Rookie of the Year has hit .462 with five home runs and 13 RBIs over the 12 games that have followed. He’s now hitting .326 with a .944 OPS.
Though Harris said he can’t explain the run he’s on, Braves starting pitcher Grant Holmes – who allowed three runs on seven hits over six innings on Friday – didn’t mince words when describing Harris’ 2026 success.
“He’s the GOAT,” Holmes said. “It’s crazy. I feel like every time he goes up there, he gets a hit. He’s coming through big time for the guys, and I love to see it.”
The Braves swept the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park last weekend, and Atlanta has won four straight over Philadelphia to start the season for the first time since 2007.