Ailment Not Stopping Michael Harris II From Delivering For Braves

The Atlanta Braves centerfielder is delivering despite being limited by a quad injury the past couple of games

Harris is getting the job done despite a quad injury | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Any issue that Michael Harris II may be feeling in his quad isn’t stopping him fro putting runs on the board for the Atlanta Braves. It’s keeping him off the field, and he’s a little slower out of the box, but the production continues. 

This action came with him back in the lineup as a designated hitter. He exited Thursday’s game with an injury, and it kept him out of the starting lineup on Friday. 

Harris drove in a run with a sac fly in the bottom of the fourth and singled in another in the bottom of the sixth. For a brief time, the latter RBI appeared to be the game-winner. He extended his league-leading active RBI streak to seven games, and is on a eight-game hitting streak.

The night before, despite being scratched from the lineup, he delivered off the bench to give the Braves a go-ahead two-run double in the bottom of the sixth. 

His RBI streak is the longest by a Brave since Matt Olson’s streak of the same length back in Setember. It’s the longest by a Braves primary center fielder since Andruw Jones’ seven-game streak in 2005. 

The Braves have been more comfortable letting him hit and run the bases than they would letting him play in center the past couple of nights. How he’ll run is a little more predictable and it’s easier to pace yourself. 

“I feel like he can control a lot more on the offensive side of the ball,” manager Walt Weiss said on Saturday. “On defense, it’s tought to do, right? A ball’s hit, and you’re going to do get it. So offense, you can control a little bit more - the effort he runs with.”

It’s a balancing act. They keep him off his feet as much as possible, so they don’t lose his bat. He takes it easy running down the first baseline, so he doesn’t have to risk missing more time. 

However, they’re balancing it, it’s working for him. Despite the ailment, he keeps hitting the ball hard. His first hit of the game came off the bat at nearly 109 mph, and his sac fly reach just over 102 mph. 

That’s not something the Braves want to be without for an extended time. 

He’s back in the lineup on Sunday and will DH again. Short turnaround from the night before isn’t stopping him. First pitch on Sunday is set for 1:35 p.m. 

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