The Braves hit three homers in Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the Marlins. They’re 4-2 to start their nine-game homestand.
Here are five takeaways from Sunday:
1. After losing five of their first six to the Marlins, the Braves won 10 of the final 13 head-to-head contests. They went 11-8 against Miami, securing double-digit wins against the Marlins for the 16th time in the last 18 years.
2. Second baseman Ozzie Albies and first baseman Freddie Freeman both homered in the seventh off Marlins reliever Anthony Bass. Albies’ homer was his 28th. Freeman’s blast, which came on his 32nd birthday, was his 30th.
The Braves’ infield is close to becoming the first in major-league history with each member hitting 30 homers. Freeman and third baseman Austin Riley have reached that mark. Albies is two away while second baseman Dansby Swanson stands at 26 home runs.
3. Freeman always hits on his birthday. He’s 18-for-45 (.400) in 12 games on Sept. 12 in his career, slugging three home runs. His teammates sang “Happy Birthday” to him as he returned to the dugout after his home run.
“They were over there singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him,” Snitker said. “I even text him ‘happy birthday’ and I was thinking, ‘Wasn’t his birthday a couple days ago?’ I even forgot and I text him this morning. But that’s awesome.”
Snitker continued, lauding Freeman’s consistency: “Freddie has that easy power the other way. He just stays inside the ball so well. He stays with his approach. He’s another one who amazes me how he never deviates from his approach. It’s there every pitch. He never throws an at-bat away. He stays with his approach and what he wants to do. I think young hitters should look at that and see. That comes over time. He didn’t show up here with that, how special he is.”
4. With the Braves trailing 1-0 with two outs in the fourth, left fielder Eddie Rosario smashed a two-run homer to center to wake up a lackadaisical crowd. It was Rosario’s third homer in 14 games with the Braves, who acquired him from Cleveland on July 30 while he was sidelined by an abdominal injury.
Rosario has proven worth the wait, further bolstering the team’s bench. He’s showing the power that produced a 32-homer season in 2019, his last full campaign.
“He puts together really good at-bats,” starter Max Fried said. “Since he’s come over, you even saw today (with a throw home) that he’s pretty good with the glove. He’s got a really good arm. Really good player. Does a little bit of everything. He’s had a couple big hits for us recently.”
5. Outfielder Jorge Soler doubled in the fifth, extending his hitting streak to a career-best-tying 10 games. He’s the second July acquisition to earn a 10-game hitting streak in this weekend — outfielder Adam Duvall, who was off Sunday, also has a career-best 10 game streak going.
“We have great chemistry with the new guys,” Albies said. “They’ve seemed right in place. They always have positive energy and a positive attitude. They’ve been great for us.”
Stat to know
3 (Freeman has three career homers on his birthday.)
Quotable
“Homers are fun and that’s why everybody celebrates them.” – Albies
Up next
The Braves are off Monday before opening a three-game series against the Rockies on Tuesday. Touki Toussaint (3-2, 4.11) will face Rockies right-hander Jon Gray (7-10, 4.18).
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