Braves Notes - September 23
HOME RUNS: Marcell Ozuna clubbed two home runs last night, while Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson each hit one...The game was Atlanta’s third this season with at least five home runs. • Only four other teams – the White Sox (5), the Dodgers (3), the Padres (3), the Yankees (3) – have as many five-homer games this year…The Braves had just four games over 162 games last season with five or more home runs. • The Braves have 98 homers this season, second most in the majors behind just the Dodgers (104)... Atlanta’s 98 homers have come in just 55 games, by far the most home runs the Braves have ever hit in their first 55 games of a season…The 2003 club held the previous record, hitting 84. • Last year’s Braves had 75 home runs through their first 55 games, and would go on to hit a franchise record 249 homers…Extrapolated over a full 162- game season, this Braves team would be on pace to hit 289 home runs. • The Braves have hit 50 home runs this month, 11 more than any other team in baseball...Atlanta’s 50 homers this month are already the most the club has ever hit in September and marks just the fourth 50-homer month by the club since moving to the city in 1966...The club record is 56 homers in June 2019...The Braves hit 55 homers in May 2003 and 50 in July 2006.
OZZIE: 2B Ozzie Albies went 3-for-4 last night, driving in one on his sixth homer of the season...He scored twice. • He has hit .396/.418/.736 (21-for-53) in 13 games since being activated off the injured list on September 9...He has hits in 11 of those games, and eight of his 21 hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, five home runs). • Since his activation, the Braves have scored 100 runs in 13 games, an average of 7.7 per game. • He missed 30 games with a bone contusion on his right wrist...He batted .159 (7-for-44) in 11 games prior to going on the IL...Albies played in at least 158 games in each of the last two seasons.
OZUNA: OF Marcell Ozuna logged the first four-hit, five-RBI game of his career last night, going 4-for-5 with two runs, five RBI and a pair of home runs. • The effort gave Ozuna the NL lead in both home runs (17) and RBI (53)... The last Braves player to lead the NL in either of those categories was Andruw Jones, who paced the circuit in both in 2005. • Jones hit a franchise-record 51 home runs and drove in 128 during the 2005 season…Over a full 162- game season, Ozuna’s current totals would pace to 50 homers and 156 RBI. • Ozuna is batting .379/.455/.759 over 21 games in September, with a majors-most 30 RBI.