WATCH: Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies Homers in First Rehab Game
Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies had a monster night for the Gwinnett Stripers during the first game of his rehab assignment.
The highlight of the night came when he blasted a line-drive three-run shot to left field in the top of the seventh inning to give the Stripers a 4-0 lead.
Overall on the night, he went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk in four plate appearances. His other base knock was a leadoff single in the first inning.
Now, it needs to be pointed out that he only faced lefties in this game. So at the very least, we know he’s good to go in a matchup he’s proven to dominate.
As a right-handed batter against left-handed pitchers this season, Albies has batted .343 with a .912 OPS across 101 plate appearances.
All that is left is to find out how he does as a righty against a righty. He hasn’t batted righty on righty in 2024.
He had a combined five plate appearances against a righty while batting right between 2022 and 2023. Even though he’s 2-for-5 with a home run, let’s be honest, it doesn’t mean much.
It’ll take more than a rehab game against a righty to get a real idea too. However, it would be great if he got a few at-bats in before rejoining the big league club.
The switch-hitting second baseman is batting right-handed exclusively because he still feels discomfort when trying to bat from the left side.
Albies has been out since July 21 due to a left wrist fracture. He sustained the injury on a tag play at second base in the ninth inning of a 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was projected to miss approximately eight weeks. The eight-week mark was a couple days ago. In that case, he's approximately on schedule.
He is scheduled to play two rehab assignment games. The next one is on Wednesday. After that, he should join the Braves in Miami for the start of their series with the Marlins.