NEW YORK -- As the Braves continue their dominance of the Mets and fuel hope of jumping back into the postseason picture, it’s time to recognize how Matt Olson’s teammates feel about both his production and presence.
“I can’t say enough about the guy,” Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider said. “I mean, we’d be here all day. He’s just an unbelievable person, player and leader. We couldn’t be doing it without him.”
Olson is tied for the best fWAR among all MLB first basemen and he is on pace for what would be his fourth 30-homer, 100-RBI season since 2021. But he’s just glad he and his teammates are once again tallying clutch hits, like the two-out, two-run single that capped a five-run sixth in a 7-4 win over the Mets on Tuesday night at Citi Field.
“It’s something we were having a hard time doing,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You have to do that. You have to get two-out hits if you’re going to win games. They were few and far between, but now it’s getting back to being baseball again.”
Since losing Chris Sale to a rib fracture that could sideline him into August and dropping a three-game series in Miami, the Braves have tallied consecutive wins and improved to 5-0 on the season against the Mets. They have also won 10 of 14 since winning just three times during a 17-game span from May 20-June 8.
“It feels like our brand of baseball,” Olson said. “The pitching staff has just been solid all year round. It feels like the difference has been just rolling some stuff together on offense.”
Strider’s resurgence has also played a significant part in the optimism that currently surrounds the Braves. The right-hander surrendered a single to Pete Alonso on a pitch off the plate and allowed two fourth-inning runs on a Brett Baty single that had a 67.6 mph exit velocity. But he limited the damage to three runs in that frame and ended his five-inning outing with consecutive strikeouts of Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto.
As Strider has distanced himself from elbow surgery with three straight good starts, he has bolstered a rotation that ranks second only to the Yankees with a 3.24 starter’s ERA since May 1. Pitching hasn’t been the issue. But a lack of offensive production from the second base, shortstop, left field and center field positions has heightened the fact that guys like Olson and Austin Riley haven’t necessarily found that next gear yet.
What has improved offensively for the Braves during their current successful 14-game stretch? Well, Ronald Acuña Jr. has led the Majors in both batting average (.479) and OPS (1.457) during this stretch. Olson has done his part, constructing a 1.030 OPS. But no other qualified Braves player has an OPS above .692 during this stretch.
This is why it felt so significant when Marcell Ozuna and Olson delivered their big two-out hits against the Mets over the past week. This is not a lineup that can squander opportunities like the one that was presented Tuesday night when Mets reliever Huascar Brazobán issued three straight walks to begin the sixth.
Nick Allen fueled the decisive inning when he capped a rare three-hit night with a game-tying RBI single and Olson finished off the rally when he laced Reed Garrett’s 1-2 pitch to right field for a bases-loaded single that gave the Braves a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I see [Olson’s] work and the intent to grow and to make those adjustments,” Strider said. “It's paying off, and I think it will continue to be that.”
Olson hit .200 (10-for-50) with runners in scoring position through May 27. But he has batted .461 (12-for-26) in these situations since then.
This has been a promising stretch for Olson, who exited May 15 hitting .214 with a .720 OPS. He has batted .308 with a .995 OPS over the 34 games to follow and now owns a .256 batting average and an .844 OPS through 78 games.
Remember when Olson set franchise home run (54) and RBI (139) records while hitting .283 with a .993 OPS in 2023? Through 78 games that season, he was hitting .237 with 25 homers and an .885 OPS.
“This season hasn’t been ideal, but being able to cut the valleys out a little bit here and there, that’s what the best players do,” Olson said. “It’s guys being able to nip it in the bud early and move on.”