Ozzie

Albies

All of Atlanta’s runs came on two-run homers; Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the first off Kevin Gausman in the sixth, Albies gave the Braves a 4-3 lead off Jacob Webb in the seventh and then Drake Baldwin provided insurance against Edward Cabrera in the ninth. Albies’ homer came from the eighth spot in the lineup, which was the lowest he’s hit all year. He was batting just .195/.252/.337 in 226 plate appearances since the All-Star break.

Mauricio Dubón is at second base and hitting fifth against Rays RHP Nick Martinez. It appears to just be a routine day off. Albies is 1-for-18 in Atlanta’s last five games and has produced nearly a carbon-copy of last year’s line with a .247/.303/.407 batting line and 21 homers. In 2025, he hit .240/.306/.365 with 16 homers.

Albies’ home run was his 21st of the season. He hit a solo shot off Jake Irvin in the second inning. Albies hadn’t hit a home run since August 11 against the Mets, a span of 18 games. He’s hitting .254 with a .725 OPS and 68 RBI this year.

Acuña had previously hit only first and second this season. Ozzie Albies, who is hitting .230/.286/.374 in 398 plate appearances since May 10, is batting second tonight.

Albies also had a sac fly, because of course he did. Tonight’s was his 13th of the season, overtaking Henry Aaron and Del Crandall for the Braves’ single-season record (oddly enough, both of them did it in 1960). Vinnie Pasquantino in 2023 is the only other player to have 13 sac flies in a season this decade. Francisco Lindor, with 15 in 2016, was the last to have more than that. According to Baseball Reference, the record since sac flies were first tracked in 1954 is 19 by Gil Hodges in 1954.

Albies broke a scoreless affair with a solo homer off an otherwise excellent Nolan McLean to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. It also gives Albies 20 homers on the season, and he’s driven in 64 over Atlanta’s 120 games. A very solid — if unspectacular — season for Albies.

There haven’t been any indications that Albies is dealing with any sort of injury, so it looks to be just a breather for the 29-year-old infielder. Mauricio Dubon will cover second base in his absence and will bat fifth against Marlins’ righty Janson Junk.

Albies smashed a solo homer in the third inning off Ryan Gusto, the only run Atlanta picked up off Gusto before he exited the game. Albies now has 19 homers on the season, and the RBI ups his total to 63.

Albies’ home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a game-tying solo home run in the eighth inning off Rico Garcia. The home run gave the Braves life momentarily before the Orioles had a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning. Albies has hit two home runs in his last three games. He’s hitting .264 with a .755 OPS and 57 RBI.

Albies isn’t exactly struggling this month, but he has fanned 21 times in just 17 games, which is incredibly unusual. In fact, it’s the most times he’s struck out in a month since Sept. 2021. He struck out just nine times in 23 games in June. Of course, Albies really hasn’t been hot at any point since April; he’s batting .234/.289/.381 since May 1.