CINCINNATI — Matt Olson chuckled when asked if he’d consider naming one of his kids Citizen Bank Park or Great American Ball Park. His reluctance to sign could have something to do with the success he’s had at many stadiums this year.
But the Braves first baseman really took a liking to Cincinnati this weekend as he fought his way into a tie for the major league home run lead. Olson hit four homers during the three-game streak, including a three-run starting shot in the sixth inning in Sunday afternoon’s 7-6 win over the previously red-hot Reds.
“What he’s doing right now is impressive,” said Austin Riley, the Braves’ third baseman. “We know he’s fun to watch when he’s getting hot. That’s what he’s doing right now.”
With Olson’s backing, the Braves took a 4-1 lead on this road trip that began in Philadelphia. They won a two-game set against the Phillies, who entered the series, after winning 13 of their last 15 games. Atlanta then bid farewell to its eight-game winning streak on Friday night before clinching back-to-back wins over the Reds, ending its 12-game winning streak.
Each of the six games played between these teams this year was decided by a run. On Sunday, the Braves conceded two runs in the eighth inning and then breathed again in the ninth inning after a game-ending double play with corner runners.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this exhausted after a series,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “That was different. Fans get their money’s worth in this series.”
The Braves and Reds hit 19 homers combined, tying the record for most hits during a three-game streak in Cincinnati.
Olson hit a total of five home runs during the five-game journey, but the highest hit was the three-run starting shot he hit in the series finale against Ian Gibaut. The backfield hit was his 25th home run of the year and put him at the top of the MLB along with Shohei Ohtani. Olson’s home run surge has also helped him push his NL-leading total RBI to 60, a point behind the Angels hitter’s MLB lead.
“RBIs are the most important statistic to me,” Snitker said. “It doesn’t even show up in some stats. The guys driving the runs are the most important part of this game. It’s not all the other things they talk about.”
Olson’s detractors have focused on his 28.1 percent strikeout rate, or .236 batting average. But four games before midseason, he has an OPS of .891. That number hardly fluctuated. He scored an OPS of .932 in March/April, an OPS of .851 in May and an OPS of .888 in June so far.
The power has always been there for Olson, who was the only players this season along with Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Eugenio Suárez to have hit at least 29 homers in four of the last five seasons.
What bothered Olson this year, however, was the lack of consistent production.
“I make them count when I get hits and produce them,” Olson said. “But at some point it’s no longer tenable that, I don’t even know what percentage of hits are home runs.”
Thirty-six percent (25 of 70) of Olson’s hits were home runs. But he was still more consistent than he might think. His .350 on-base percentage isn’t much lower than Ohtani’s (.377) and higher than Pete Alonso (.318), who is the only other player to have hit at least 24 home runs this year.
Olson has noted some progress, having hit just 23.7 percent of his plate appearances this month. He also showed the ability to go the other way, as two of his homers this week were hit on the left field line.
“He’s just a big, strong guy and really talented,” said Braves starting pitcher Charlie Morton.
Riley was also among the many who were impressed when Olson hit a home run against a field below the hitting zone on Saturday and then highlighted Sunday’s win with a home run with a 97.4-mph fastball over the zone.
“The last one I thought, ‘That’s a good swing,'” Riley said. “Then I looked at it and realized that at 97 it was like four balls over the zone. I was like, ‘I need to take some notes.’”