ATLANTA — Before their charter flight leaves Atlanta, the Rockies might want to make sure none of the home runs the Braves have been hitting over the past few days in orbit.
Eddie Rosario was responsible for the majority of balls shot by Atlanta while making Truist Park play like Coors Field this weekend. So it was only fitting that he led the way with a two-man performance that helped the Braves complete a four-game sweep and extend their winning streak to six in their 14-6 win over the Rockies on Sunday afternoon.
“Men love [Rosario]When they roll, they can do a lot of damage, said Braves manager Brian Snitker.
Snicker could have talked about any member of his lineup, including Michael Harris II, who celebrated Father’s Day by producing the first five-hit and longest homer of his young career. He’s also experienced the thrill of catching the first ceremonial pitch from his dad.
“I think the baseball gods are on my side right now,” Harris said. “I’m thrilled to be able to do this in front of my dad on Father’s Day.”
From Elias Sports Office:
• The 40 points are tied for the third-most by Atlanta in a set of four games. Coincidentally, the Braves also scored 40 points during a four-game home series against the Rockies in 2013.
• The 28-game winning streak is tied for the second-highest in four games in franchise history. The Braves led the Astros by 30 points in 2005 and outscored the Pirates by 28 points in 2,121. They marked another four-game series by hitting 15 homers in that series against Pittsburgh.
• This is the first time the Braves have tallied four consecutive games against one team since doing so against the Padres in 1974.
“It’s crazy,” said Snicker. “I felt like we played four games at Coors Field honestly.”
What made this dominant series even more impressive was that the Braves did such damage with Ronald Acuña Jr. going 2-for-13 with just five walks and no extra-base hits. Even without the team’s MVP candidate doing his thing, this is a deep and powerful offense.
It’s only gotten more difficult with the return of Harris, who spent most of the first six weeks of the season either injured or shackled to a massive knee brace. He was batting only .165 with a .479 OPS on May 25th. 326 with a .978 OPS in the next 22 games.
Harris highlighted Sunday’s performance with an anticipated 453-foot hit by Statcast hit Matt Carracetti in the fifth inning. The Braves now have 16 homers that have traveled at least 450 feet. Just 72 games into the season, that’s more than any non-Colorado team has made since Statcast began tracking this data in 2015. The 2021 Rockies set the record with 19 of those teammates tracked.
“We just see the ball so well, and it hits the right part of the bat,” Harris said. “We don’t get a lot of wall scrapers. Those count too. When you hit it 460, those count the same, but I think you get some great points for hitting it a little bit more.”
Charlie Morton allowed the Rockies to score five runs in the top of the second, and Ozzie Alpes removed that deficit with a three-run home run off Chase Anderson in the fourth to give Atlanta a 7-5 lead. The hitting hitter, Albez struggled against right-handers for the first six weeks of the season. But he hit .307 with seven homers and a 1.013 over his first 88 plate appearances from left field.
Rosario was also heading in the right direction while hitting . 339 with eight homers and a 1.224 OPS in June. He caught the Braves in the series finale with a three-run homer in the second and provided insurance with a homer in the sixth. He’s made four consecutive appearances for the first time in his career and has two multi-question matches this month.
“We trust each other, we know we know anyone can go out and have a good day,” Harris said.
“Typical food guru. Problem solver. Devoted beer practitioner. Professional reader. Baconaholic.”