Swanson leads Braves' 17-hit outburst in NY

July 27th, 2020

won’t be driving in five runs on a nightly basis. But the Braves are quite capable of producing many more offensive outbursts similar to the one that carried them to a 14-1 win over the Mets on Sunday night at Citi Field.

“I’m real encouraged by everything we’ve got going on right now,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after taking two of three from the Mets.

Yeah, it was just a three-game series during which the Atlanta bats slumbered through the first 17 2/3 innings. But ’s game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth of Saturday’s 10-inning win stirred an offense that tallied 17 hits, 11 of the extra-base variety, in this series finale.

So what was the first thing that came to Snitker’s mind when asked about the most encouraging development he witnessed from this offensive eruption?

“[] squaring a couple balls up,” Snitker said. “When he hit that double, I was thinking that’s the kind of thing that can right a guy when he gets that feel.”

Acuña’s fifth-inning double set up the Braves’ 10th run and was just his second hit in 15 at-bats this series. But the Braves know he’ll start rolling soon, and this weekend showed he is far from the only weapon in what has the makings of a dangerous lineup.

“It’s a fun lineup and team to be a part of,” Swanson said. “It’s deep, and it’s consistent.”

Here’s a look at the three most encouraging things from this lineup on Sunday, which also saw rookie catcher record three hits while making the first start of his career.

Light tower power
The 458-foot homer drilled against Corey Oswalt in the sixth inning might be more impressive than it was encouraging.

“That’s one of the farthest balls I’ve seen hit,” Swanson said.

“My God, that’s a big strong kid,” Snitker responded when asked about the solo shot, which stands as the fourth-longest homer hit by a Braves player since Statcast began collecting data in 2015.

But this homer was also encouraging because it was hit against an 0-2 curveball.

OK, it wasn’t the best breaking ball. But this still highlighted the improved approach taken by Riley, who hit .083 (4-for-84) against two-strike breaking balls last year.

The slider was much more problematic than the curve. But the young third baseman has impressed the Braves with improved discipline since Spring Training. Now, the hope is Riley will get back to where he was last year, when he homered 14 times in his first 42 games.

“We saw what he can do,” Snitker said. “He’s making adjustments. He’s that kind of guy that if he goes off, man, he can carry you.”

Albies gets rolling
spent the past couple of weeks looking like the best player the Braves have ever had in intrasquad games. Now he’s doing some damage against opposing pitchers.

Albies fueled Sunday’s uprising with three extra-base hits, including a seventh-inning homer. The 23-year-old second baseman also doubled and scored during a two-run first inning that began a rough Mets debut for Rick Porcello, who allowed seven runs -- six earned -- and seven hits in just two innings.

This was the 37th three-hit game of Albies’ career. But it marked just the second time the switch-hitter has tallied three extra-base hits from the left side of the plate.

Albies killed talk of ending his days as a switch-hitter when he batted .267 with a .778 OPS against right-handers last year. He had produced a .624 OPS from that side in the second half of the 2018 season.

So as this season gets going and Albies aims to realize his potential as one of the game’s most exciting young stars, there will be a lot of focus on what he continues to do from the left side.

Swanson’s big day
The strength of the Braves’ lineup rests at the top, which has been enriched by the presence of Ozuna, who has gone 4-for-12 with two homers and two doubles for Atlanta.

But this lineup will need the depth that Swanson provides. He matched a career high with five RBIs and accounted for one of the four homers hit by the Braves on Sunday.

Swanson also delivered a two-run double during the five-run third. But his most encouraging hit was the opposite-field homer he hit in the fourth inning against Oswalt. This brought back memories of the 2019 season, when he homered 12 times through 59 games, or once every 18 at-bats.

“Every day, I’ve been focusing on trying to become better, more consistent and more convicted in what I have to do that day” Swanson said.