Braves Briefing: "Marcell May" looks to be a thing

Atlanta narrowly dropped last night's game after Jared Shuster put up his second strong outing and handed it over to the bullpen, who was unable to hold the lead, culminating in a frustrating 6-4 loss to division rival Philadelphia that tied the series at one game apiece. The two teams square off this afternoon in Truist Park.

Marcell Ozuna has had a May for the ages

As we finished April, the much maligned Braves designated hitter was sitting on an absolutely terrible slash line - .085/.194/.203 - that saw him grade out as one of the worst hitters in all of baseball. Ge had five hits in sixty-seven plate appearances, and there was plenty of talk about Atlanta eating the $32M owed on the final two years of his contract and designating him for assignment.

Insted, Brian Snitker stayed the course with the slugger, and was rewarded for it. Starting all three games of a series in Miami (his hometown, and where he initially debuted in MLB) to open May, Ozuna went 6-15 with three homeruns and six RBIs. He hasn't cooled off since.

In the month of May, he's gone 26-71 with nine homeruns, twenty RBIs, and drawn nine walks to only striking out sixteen times. This surge of performance has raised his season slash line to a respectable .238/.327/.523, with eleven homeruns and an above average 125 OPS+. Absolutely amazing, and it significantly lengthens the lineup when you have a designated hitter in the bottom half of the lineup that can, you know, actually hit.

NL East Standings for Saturday, May 27th

Most of the division picked up wins yesterday, with only Atlanta dropping their matchup.

Team	Record	GB	Action Today
Braves	31-20	--	vs Phillies
Mets	27-25	4.5	@ Rockies
Marlins	26-26	5.5	@ Angels
Phillies	24-27	7.0	@ Braves
Nationals	22-29	9.0	@ Royals

We Wrote It

Braves Today writer Jake Mastroianni of Locked On Braves covered last night's action, and he pointed out Jared Shuster's improvement once he acclimated to life at the MLB level:

Jared Shuster has stepped up big time in the rotation with the injuries to Max Fried and Kyle Wright.

While he did walk Bryce Harper to start the Philly rally in the sixth, it was still a third straight really good starter for Shuster, coming only one out away from officially being a quality start: He went 5.2 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

The lefty is getting in a groove and feeling more confident at the big league level, which is huge for the Braves.

Read the whole piece HERE.

Watch Atlanta Braves vs Philadelphia Phillies Highlights

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, May 27th

The Braves and Phillies will play today at 4:10 PM ET. It will be Zack Wheeler on the mound for the Phillies against Charlie Morton for the Braves. The game broadcast, with Voice of the Braves Brandon Gaudin, is available inside Braves Country on Bally Sports Southeast, and is available on MLB.TV outside of the broadcast area. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.

Other Stories from the Philadelphia Series
Takeaways: Atlanta Braves Bullpen Lets One Walk Away
WATCH: Michael Harris drops a bomb into left-center to give Atlanta the lead
Lineup, how to watch the Braves take on Philadelphia in Friday night's game two
WATCH: Austin Riley crushes his second home run of the game
WATCH: Marcell Ozuna continues to tear the cover off the ball
WATCH: Austin Riley destroys a ball into the left-field seats for his 8th home run of the season
Podcast: Atlanta Braves struggled vs LA Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies Predictions
Lineup, how to watch Atlanta's series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on OutKast Night
Dylan Dodd officially called up to start tonight's game vs Philadelphia
It's OutKast Night at Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta

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