Braves Briefing: Matt Olson continues his historic season
With a lot of the focus being on Matt Olson's teammate Ronald Acuña Jr. as he continues his push for National League MV{, the focus on the Atlanta Braves first baseman hasn't been as sharp as it probably could be.
On Tuesday night, Olson hit his 51st home run of the season, tying the Braves single-season record that was set by franchise great Andruw Jones in 2005.
Olson can break the record tonight when Atlanta takes on the Philadelphia Phillies, where the team can also clinch the NL East for the sixth straight year. The Braves have already secured a spot in this year's playoffs, and are on track to finish with home field advantage in both the National League and, if they reach it, the World Series.
NL East Standings
| Team | Record | GB | Action Today |
|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta | 95-50 | - | @ Philadelphia |
Philadelphia | 79-66 | 16.0 | Hosts Atlanta |
Miami | 74-71 | 21.0 | @ Milwaukee |
NYM | 66-78 | 28.5 | Hosts Arizona |
Washington | 65-80 | 30.0 | @ Pittsburgh |
We wrote it
Braves Today's Will Moon led our Braves coverage Tuesday night. He highlighted the starting pitching.
This had the feel of a playoff game, with Max Fried and Zack Wheeler getting the ball for their respective teams. Fried easily won that particular duel, as Wheeler was tagged for six earned runs, all coming via those three homers.
But while Wheeler uncharacteristically struggled against his hometown club, Max pitched well. He only went five innings, which seemed odd given his relatively low pitch count, but he was effective while he was out there. He allowed four hits, struck out six, and walked two on the night, with the only run he allowed coming off the bat of his nemesis, Nick Castellanos. (Castellanos is now 8-13 against Fried, though that was his first homer off the star lefty.)
Here's the full list of takeaways.
Highlights from Atlanta's extra innings win over Philly
On Deck
The same two teams are back at it tomorrow night, wrapping up this four-game set with Spencer Strider squaring off against lefty Christopher Sanchez. Strider looks to shake off both the flu and a rough outing against the Cardinals last week. He also hopes to bolster his Cy Young candidacy. A Braves win would lock up their sixth consecutive division title, but we know the Phillies won't want to see Atlanta celebrating on their field.
The TV broadcast is on Bally Sports South locally at 6:40 PM ET, or MLB.tv and ESPN+ outside of Braves Country. The radio call is available in the Atlanta metro area on 680 The Fan, across the Southeast on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, and nationally on MLB.TV.
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