Braves' Matt Olson Speaks out on Missed Chances in Series Opener vs. Phillies

Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson has been hitting better overall the past two weeks. But as has been the case for several Braves hitters for quite some time, Olson is still trying to find a way to be more clutch.

Olson had one of Atlanta's two at-bats with runners in scoring posiiton in the series opener versus the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. That came with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning with Philadelphia ahead 1-0.

Olson struck out to leave the bases loaded.

After the game, the first baseman expressed regret over not coming through in that situation.

“That’s part of my job title is to drive guys in,” Olson told reporters, via The Athletic's David O'Brien. “You know, middle-lineup guy, it’s something I pride myself on is driving guys in, scoring runs, and I got a couple of chances to do it.

"That at-bat, he left a couple pitches in decent spots to hit, and I was a little under them, a little late on one, just trying to stay within myself and kind of work off-gap a little bit and back it up a little too much. Yeah, you kick yourself after that in a tight game.”

Olson was 0-for-4 Tuesday. He's now 1-for-17 in the past four games since the power surge he experienced in the middle of May at Boston and Washington.

What made Olson's poor performance in the series opener versus the Phillies extra painful was how favorable the matchup was. The first baseman entered Tuesday 7-for-24 with two doubles in his career versus Philadelphia starter Ranger Suárez.

“He made some good pitches, but we also missed some opportunities,” Olson said of the left-hander. “Speaking for myself, he gave me a couple of pitches to hit in that bases-loaded situation.

"He’s a good pitcher. He’s not going to light up the velo, but he mixes it up well, moves it around. The changeup’s 80 miles an hour, so it makes the 92, 93 fastball look a lot firmer. He’s got good arm speed on the changeup, throws it to lefties and righties, moves it around.”

After beginning the season 0-7, the Braves fought so hard to get to the .500 mark in early May. Then in Boston, they moved one game above an even record thanks to a series win.

But since then, Atlanta has lost five of six games. The Braves are also just 1-3 with outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. back in the lineup.

The Braves have two more games this week versus the Phillies before they return home to face the Red Sox again. There's still a lot of the 2025 regular season left, but already trailing Philadelphia by 9.5 games, the next two contests at Citizens Bank Park this week could be crucial to the Braves climbing back into the NL East race.