ATLANTA -- When legendary Braves figures Bobby Cox and Ted Turner passed away last week, the Braves were on a West Coast road trip.
Turner -- the former Braves owner who passed away at age 87 on Wednesday -- died just three days before the Hall of Fame manager Cox, who passed on Saturday at 84.
The Braves returned to Truist Park on Tuesday night and played their first home game since Turner and Cox passed away. Fittingly, the Braves honored the late franchise legends with a pregame ceremony featuring a video tribute and moment of silence as the Braves and Cubs lined the baselines ahead of their series opener.
Even more fittingly, the Braves earned a 5-2 win and are 3-0 since Cox passed.
Perhaps what wasn’t on Braves fans’ bingo cards was a big day at the plate for outfielder Mike Yastrzemski.
Yastrzemski’s offensive struggles have been one of the few negative storylines surrounding the 2026 Braves, as he had slashed .200/.264/.252 with six RBIs in 115 at-bats entering Tuesday since he signed a two-year contract with Atlanta on Dec. 10.
He was the hero on this night.
The 35-year-old nearly doubled his season RBI total as he went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and the Braves cruised to a series-opening win against one of the National League’s top clubs.
After Yastrzemski gave the Braves a 1-0 lead with an RBi single in the bottom of the third, he hit a go-ahead, two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Yastrzemski said he and his club felt the energy and emotions during the pregame ceremony.
“That’s obviously a really tough thing for the organization, [losing] two of the cornerstones,” Yastrzemski said. “It was nice to see them honored in a really nice way. I think everybody did a really great job honoring them and it’s always a tough time to lose anyone that you’re associated with. To have the guys rally behind it and play well on a day like today is also really nice.”
It was Yastrzemski’s first home run as a Brave and his first home run since Sept. 28, 2025. Yastrzemski is now 5-for-10 with three home runs against Colin Rea, who started on the mound for the Cubs.
“The swing [has] been feeling really good lately,” Yastrzemski said. “It’s more about the mentality at the plate and it felt like today, after a nice off day, I could come in fresh and just be ready to go.”
Yastrzemski’s home run highlighted Atlanta’s four-run fifth inning in which Austin Riley hit a solo home run and Matt Olson tallied an RBI single as the Braves tagged Rea for five earned runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings.
“It feels like there’s no pressure,” Yastrzemski said of Atlanta’s offense. “All you have to do is have a good at-bat and move on to the next guy. We have such a deep lineup that there’s a ton of trust. That makes things a lot easier.”
Manager Walt Weiss said it was a matter of time before Yastrzemski had a big night at the dish.
“It felt like he found some things in Kansas City last year with his swing,” Weiss said. “He looked that way this spring. He had an unbelievable Spring Training. These are the ups and downs of this game. Everybody struggles in this game. He has a good track record and he has a high baseball IQ. When guys have that type of aptitude and that type of work ethic they usually can get through things.”
“[Weiss] knows that what’s gone on the last five weeks isn’t my best,” Yastrzemski said. “I know that [and] he knows that. With the law of averages, hopefully there’s better to come. That gives you confidence as a player when your manager keeps throwing you out there and writes your name in the lineup as often as possible.”
The Braves held the Cubs to a season-low one hit – a solo home run off Alex Bregman’s bat in the top of the fourth. Atlanta’s pitching staff allowed just one baserunner after the fourth inning.
“The big part of it is these guys are really shutting down other teams,” Yastrzemski said. “If there is a slip-up and a mishap or a bad inning [from the pitching staff], I think there is a lot of confidence from them in us to go ahead and put some [runs] back up on the board. That’s what being on a team is about. I think we’ve been playing great defense too.”