OF Jarred Kelenic Speaks Out on Braves Offensive Outburst vs. Yankees

The Atlanta Braves took two out of three against the New York Yankees while scoring 14 runs.

Atlanta Braves center fielder Jarred Kelenic / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Braves center fielder Jarred Kelenic didn’t hit a leadoff homer in the first inning on Sunday like Ronald Acuña has done so many times in his career. But Kelenic did hit a solo homer in the third.

That started the scoring for the Braves in the series finale against the New York Yankees. Behind another strong outing from left-hander Max Fried, the Braves defeated the Yankees, 3-1, to take two out of three in the Bronx.

The Braves scored 14 runs and recorded 24 hits in the series. Kelenic had four of those hits, going 4-for-11 with two extra-base hits.

After Sunday’s victory, Kelenic credited the team’s ability to remain dedicated to their game plan for the success against the Yankees.

“We just stuck to our plan all game long,” Kelenic told Bally Sports’ Hanna Yates. “Last three games, we’ve been playing against a really good team. I feel like we just did a really good job of sticking to our plan throughout the entire game.”

The result was two victories against the team that has more wins than any other MLB team this season.

In his at-bat following the home run, Kelenic recorded a sacrifice fly to give the Braves a second run. Second baseman Ozzie Albies made it 3-0 with a single during the next at-bat in the fifth.

Kelenic had 3 RBI in the series. He is also the first left-handed hitter to go deep against Yankees starter Nestor Cortes this season.

“He’s got really good stuff, so I was just trying to get him in the heart of the plate and try to stay up the middle,” Kelenic said to Yates. “He hung me a cutter, a sweeper, something like that, and I just caught it up front and put a pretty good swing on it.”

"We just did a really good job of sticking to our plan."

The Plan: Beat the AL-leading Yankees at Yankee Stadium.@HannaRaeYates catches up with Jarred Kelenic after the series win. pic.twitter.com/5RzxhVnaU3

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) June 23, 2024

The Braves have won eight of their last 10 games, all of which have come against American League opponents. Atlanta will return to National League action on Monday when the team begins a road series against the St. Louis Cardinals.