Harris, Acuña dominate in doubleheader sweep

June 15th, 2023

DETROIT -- often jokes about his early-season struggles and his uncanny ability to not only hit the ball very hard, but also at an opposing defender.

“I don’t know what I did to the baseball gods,” he said with a laugh. “It was like, ‘Are you sure there are [only] nine guys out there?’”

The numbers back up Harris’ frustration: On May 26, he had a wOBA of just .139, nearly 200 points below the MLB average. By Monday, that number had risen to .334, suggesting that Harris had either appeased the baseball gods and increased his luck or had simply learned to hit 'em where they ain't.

However it turned, Harris isn’t complaining, and neither is Atlanta.

“As long as these guys don’t give up on themselves, they have a chance to come out of it,” manager Brian Snitker said. “And he’s done exactly that.”

Harris continued his hot hitting Wednesday, smoking a two-run double into the right-field corner during the fourth inning of the Braves’ 10-7 win over the Tigers in Game 1 of a twin bill at Comerica Park. At 112.1 mph, the knock represented the hardest-hit ball of the game and powered a five-run fourth that helped Atlanta seize control for good.

“Everyone in the lineup is doing something, and it can be really scary for other teams,” Harris said. “Every game, a different guy is going out and doing something special.”

The reigning NL Rookie of the Year added a solo homer in the seventh -- his fifth long ball of the season and second in as many games -- and a run-scoring single in the eighth to polish off his four-RBI showing, which tied a career high.

Wednesday marked the second time this season that Harris finished a triple shy of the cycle. He also did so on June 7 against the Mets.

Prior to his current hot stretch -- Harris has hit .452 (14-for-31) over his past eight games -- the Braves’ talented center fielder was hitting .163. He collected seven hits through the first two games of the series in Detroit and entered the nightcap having boosted his season average by 65 points.

After Harris and  combined for seven hits and seven RBIs in the matinee, Acuña added a 461-foot homer in the nightcap, which the Braves won, 6-5, to complete the doubleheader sweep and claim the three-game series win.

"I feel like [Acuña] comes up every inning,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I'm like, 'Are you hitting in two spots, or are you hitting in just one spot?' Because every time I look up, he's either on deck or in the batter’s box. He's as dynamic as they come. He's an electrifying player, but it's scary when he gets up."

Acuña has six 450-foot-plus home runs so far this year, the second-highest total before July in the Statcast era behind Giancarlo Stanton, who had eight in 2015. The Yankees slugger also holds the season record for most homers of at least that distance in the Statcast era, clubbing 10 in ’17.

Acuña, who is just five shy of that record and not even halfway through the season, swatted a solo homer in Game 1 that traveled 429 feet to help dig starter  out from an early hole.

Strider moved to 7-2 on the season despite allowing a trio of home runs across the first two innings that put the Braves behind, 4-0. All three homers came off fastball offerings from MLB’s strikeouts leader, who allowed just one run the rest of the way, struck out six and walked two.

Snitker was pleased with the way his starter bounced back from the early goings in Game 1, but Strider had a more critical take of his recent run.

“[After the homers], I tried to put up as many zeros as I could, and I wasn't able to get very deep in the game, which kind of stinks in the first game of the doubleheader,” he said. “… Credit to everybody else, continuing to pick me up and playing well. I’ve got to figure out how to be better.”