Ozuna continues dominant turnaround campaign

ATLANTA -- When asked about the significant improvements that Marcell Ozuna has made this season, Braves manager Brian Snitker made sure to compliment the veteran slugger for his commitment to make changes.

“He humbled himself and you saw the work ethic, and the attitude and everything,” Snitker said. “You knew if it didn’t happen, it wouldn’t be because of a lack of effort or that he didn’t care. I’m just happy for him that it’s turned around.”

Ozuna added to the impressiveness of his rebound season as he hit the decisive homer and finished a triple shy of the cycle to help the Braves end their two-game skid with a 3-2 win over the Mets on Tuesday night at Truist Park.

Bryce Elder limited New York to one run over 5 1/3 innings, and he worked with an early lead courtesy of Eddie Rosario's two-run homer in the second. Ozuna singled ahead of that home run and then drilled a solo shot off Mets starter Tylor Megill in the fifth.

Rosario’s homer made him the seventh Braves player with at least 20 homers. This is the first time the club has had more than six players reach this mark. There's a chance Orlando Arcia (14) and Michael Harris II (11) get there. The only team to have eight players reach this mark was the 2019 Twins. Rosario was among those eight.

Ozuna, who homered three times through the first two games of this series, is now three shy of his second career 30-homer season and first since 2017 (37 with the Marlins). This certainly didn’t seem to be a likely goal as he exited April hitting .085 with two homers and a .397 OPS.

“The way he has bounced back and just continued to have quality [at-bats] is one of the more impressive things I’ve seen,” Elder said.

Yeah, Ozuna hit 23 homers in 2022. But this season’s slow start combined with last year’s .687 OPS and recent legal issues (domestic violence arrest in 2021 and a DUI around this time in ‘22) created reason to believe his days with the Braves might be numbered, despite him being owed approximately $37 million around the start of May.

But Ozuna went 5-for-9 with two homers during his first two games in May and he has remained a mainstay in Atlanta’s lineup. He has hit .287 with 25 homers and a .915 OPS in the 91 games he’s played since the end of April.

What makes those numbers even more impressive is the fact that Ozuna went 4-for-49 with one extra-base hit over 14 games from July 7-26. He has hit .363 with seven homers and a 1.195 OPS over the 25 games that have followed.

“I feel happy for him,” Rosario said. “He looks like a monster out there.”

Rosario serves as another example of a player who has bounced back from last year’s frustration-filled struggles and this season’s skids. He exited an Aug. 13 game against the Mets having hit .186 with a .526 OPS over his past 33 games going back to July 1.

That rough stretch became a distant memory as Rosario spent last week earning National League Player of the Week honors. He has hit .542 with four homers and a 1.125 OPS over the seven games that he’s played dating to Aug. 14.

Rosario’s power surge has created reason to wonder how many Braves might reach the 30-homer mark. Matt Olson (43) has already surpassed that number. Austin Riley (29), Ronald Acuña Jr. (28), Ozzie Albies (28) and Ozuna (27) are knocking on the door.

So there’s certainly reason to think Atlanta could have five players hit 30-plus homers. This would match the MLB record Rosario, Miguel Sanó, Mitch Garver, Max Kepler and Nelson Cruz set for the “Bomba Squad” Twins in 2019.

There’s always the chance Sean Murphy or Rosario could hit the 10 homers they need to join the Braves with 30-plus homers this season.

“I want to break that record,” Rosario said.