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Atlanta Braves' Star Accomplishes Something Not Done For More Than 120 Years in Opening Day Rout

The Atlanta Braves came-from-behind on Friday to beat the Philadelphia Phillies for an Opening Day victory. In the win, the 2023 home run leader Matt Olson accomplished something not done in more than 120 years of team history.
Brady Farkas|
Mar 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) hits a
Mar 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) hits a | Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

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Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves came-from-behind to beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday afternoon, winning the Opening Day contest by a score of 9-3.

Atlanta trailed 2-0 through six innings but tied it at 2-2 in the seventh and then scored seven times in the eighth to blow the game open.

In the victory, reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. went 2-for-4 and defending major league home run champ Matt Olson went 3-for-5 with three RBI.

The win also coincided with Olson's 30th birthday, which gave him a fun slice of team history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

Matt Olson’s 3 extra-base hits are the most by a Braves player on his birthday since at least 1901

Olson had three doubles in the victory, which certainly jumpstarts his season positively. Olson hit 54 home runs a season ago and led baseball in RBI with 139. Lifetime, he's a .256 hitter with 230 homers. He's now in his ninth year with the Oakland Athletics and the Braves.

He is a two-time All-Star, a two-time Gold Glover and a Silver Slugger winner. He's received MVP votes in three different seasons.

The Braves won the National League East a season ago but were eliminated by the Phillies in the National League Division Series. Atlanta won the World Series and is seeking its second title in the last four years.

The Braves and Phillies will play again on Saturday afternoon. First pitch from Citizens Bank Park is set for 4:05 p.m. ET as Max Fried (ATL) pitches against Aaron Nola (PHI).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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