ATLANTA — Marcell Ozuna is on the cusp of the best 12-month stretch of his major league career, and the Atlanta Braves designated hitter is hoping for more opportunities like this in the years to come. He said Athleticism he hopes to sign an extension with the Braves to take him beyond this season, the final guaranteed year of his contract.
Ozuna’s two-run double in the fourth inning Friday night raised his majors-best RBI total to 31 in 24 games, gave Atlanta a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a Win 6 -2 in the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians, and moved it. former Braves icons Chipper Jones and Dale Murphy for most runs driven in by a Brave before May 1 since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920.
It was the 10th victory in 11 games for the Braves, who have the best record in baseball (18-6) and their most powerful offense, led by Ozuna.
“He just looked at me after that inning where they scored (a run), and he said, ‘Hey, we got you.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know,'” said Braves pitcher Chris Sale, who gave up a leadoff homer to Steven Kwan in the first inning, but only one more hit and a walk in his third straight start in seven innings. He came away with a 6-1 lead and six strikeouts.
“For (Ozuna), just an absolute monster month,” Sale said. “I don’t know if anyone in the league has done anything comparable to what he’s doing. I heard something crazy tonight, that he’s on track for over 200 RBIs. Let me take a sip from this cup and keep refilling it.
Another remarkable start to a #Braves pitcher in a homestand full of them: Sale 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR. (95/67)
– David O’Brien (@DOBrienATL) April 27, 2024
Ozuna and the Braves have four games left before May 1, which also marks the end of a calendar year since he began a surge that hasn’t slowed down, with just two streaks longer than two games consecutive no-hitters in 12 months.
He has only three no-hit games this season and has a .344 batting average. Ozuna ranks second in the National League in slugging percentage (.677) and third in OPS (1.096). Since May 1, Ozuna leads the majors with 129 RBIs in 150 games and is tied with Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies for the second most home runs (47) during that span, behind Braves teammate Matt Olson (49).
Hours before Friday’s game, Ozuna was asked about the possibility of staying beyond this season with the Braves, who hold a $16 million club option on his contract for 2025 with a $1 million buyout. dollars.
“Yeah, you don’t want to go explore somewhere else when you feel comfortable, when you have your teammates and you have the love of your organization,” Ozuna said. “There is no doubt about my decision. I don’t want to go anywhere else.
Ozuna, 33, is making $18 million this season in the final guaranteed year of a four-year, $64 million contract. He signed that deal with the Braves in February 2021 after leading the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs for Atlanta during the pandemic-shortened 60-game 2020 season.
The first two seasons of the contract were the worst of his career, with a .222 average and .675 OPS in 172 games played in 2021-22. But after a terrible start to the 2023 season – he hit .085 with a .397 OPS in April – Ozuna had five hits, two home runs and five RBIs in two games on May 2-3. , hitting .297 with 38 homers and a .905 OPS over his final 126 games in 2023 and hitting even more proficiently in the first month of this season.
“I no longer have the same difficulties as before; I don’t have too many things on my mind,” Ozuna said. “Right now I’m playing with a clear mind, which is much better. When you had to go and you heard those boos, that was on my mind. And I said to myself, ‘Just relax and do what you have to do.’ You know you can hit, and they give you the opportunity.
Until this week, the most RBIs by a Brave before May in over a century since RBIs became an official statistic was 29 generated by two-time NL MVP Murphy in 19 games of April in 1985, and 29 by Hall of Famer Jones in 27. March-April 1998 games.
Ozuna edged them out with a two-run double to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. He scored two batters later on a double by Michael Harris II. The Braves added to the lead in the fifth inning when Olson singled to drive in Ozzie Albies, who doubled in his first game after a 10-day stint on the injured list with a broken big toe.
Albies added an RBI single in the sixth to extend the lead to 5-1, and Orlando Arcia homered in the eighth.
“We can be shut out for seven innings and still score in bunches,” Sale said. “And on the other hand, let’s say we have a difficult game and we don’t score much. You know the numbers don’t lie, it’s going to happen, so you almost anticipate the next day. Like, let’s go to bed and wake up so tomorrow we can come here because something’s going to happen.
Sale had six strikeouts and improved to 3-1, lowering his ERA to 3.69 with the sixth quality start by a Braves pitcher in the first seven games of a nine-game homestand matches. The big left-hander threw 67 strikes on 92 pitches.
Sale, relying heavily on his mid-90s fastball and devastating slider, once again looked more like the pitcher who made seven straight American League All-Star appearances from 2012 to 2018 with six consecutive finishes among the top five of the Cy Young Award than the one plagued by injuries. and limited to 31 starts over a four-year span through 2023 with the Boston Red Sox.
“I said it when we first got him: You know the guy he is, the competitor he is,” Olson said. “He’s going to go out there and compete with what he has that day, and his performance was great. Mix it up well, keep the guys off balance, and we know the funky angle (arm slot). It was fun playing behind him.
Vogt remembers Atlanta fondly
In Stephen Vogt’s last game at Truist Park, in September 2021, he hit two home runs for the Braves before leaving in agony with a then-unspecified injury that ultimately required surgery for a sports hernia a few weeks later. late, just as the Braves began their march toward the World Series title this fall.
Before his first game at Truist Park as the first-year manager of the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, Vogt’s memories of his three-month stint with the Braves three years ago were anything but painful.
“It will always be a special place for me,” Vogt, 39, said. He noted how great the clubhouse chemistry was for the Braves, a sub-.500 team in August of that season before coming together after a series of trades in July, including the one that brought Vogt of the Arizona Diamondbacks and three others who remade an injury-riddled outfield.
And he highlighted the leadership of manager Brian Snitker, who had a big influence on his career.
“When you win with a group of people, you’re very, very close,” Vogt said. “And a lot of the people across the way are very special.” Brian Snitker, one of my great mentors, I wasn’t around them long enough to really get the full experience, but I learned so much from him just in that short stint. I could go on and on with a bunch of names.
Although Vogt hit just .187 with two homers and eight RBIs in 26 games for the Braves, his contributions were much more significant. He was credited with helping stabilize the pitching staff when the Braves were without injured veteran Travis d’Arnaud and youngster William Contreras had slumped and been optioned to Triple-A.
Vogt also helped keep things loose in the clubhouse with imitations that made his teammates laugh.
When he was hired by the Guardians, less than two years after retiring as a player and without any management experience, Vogt heard about Snitker.
“He said, ‘Be yourself,’” Vogt said. “He said he couldn’t be more proud of me. He said, “I knew it would happen,” but he just wasn’t sure it would be this fast. But he said, “Go out and be yourself.” Never change who you are. And do it your way. So I really appreciated his advice.
Snitker said he knew Vogt would eventually be in charge of a team.
“I looked at him as a manager in waiting when he was a player,” Snitker said. “So it didn’t surprise me…I totally think of him. He was a great teammate here when he was here and he was a big part of what we were doing.
(Photo by Marcell Ozuna: Brett Davis / USA Today)