Ozuna's incredible run continues with 2 more homers for MLB lead (12)

ATLANTA -- It might have been Chris Sale's night. But this has been Marcell Ozuna's year.

Ozuna regained the MLB lead in home runs (12) and RBIs (38) as he enjoyed his second multihomer game of the season in the Braves’ 5-0 win over the Red Sox on Wednesday night at Truist Park. His latest power display backed Sale, who notched a season-high 10 strikeouts while facing his former team for the first time since being traded to Atlanta.

“[Ozuna] is a fun guy to be around,” Sale said. “He’s got a magnetic field around him. You just want to be around him. He’s a fun guy to play with. He keeps the energy up in the dugout, in the clubhouse, on the bus or on the plane. It doesn’t matter where you’re at, you just want to be around that guy.”

A little more than a year since he began saving a decaying career, Ozuna leads the Majors in homers and RBIs. He stands with Hank Aaron (13 homers and 39 RBIs in 1959) to be the only Braves player to ever hit 12-plus homers and drive in 38-plus runs through the team’s first 34 games.

“Ozuna is one of the best hitters in the big leagues,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Sometimes, you make mistakes, he hits it out of the ballpark. Sometimes, you make pitches, he hits it out of the ballpark.”

Ozuna was the offensive star, but the most valuable player might have been Austin Riley, who made three great defensive plays and also kept the first inning alive by sprinting through first base to prevent what would have been an inning-ending double play.

A replay review overturned the initial ruling after determining former Atlanta infielder Vaughn Grissom’s throw from second base didn’t beat Riley to first base. Instead of a scoreless first, the Braves produced a four-run inning.

Matt Olson followed Riley’s hustle with a weak infield single. This set the stage for Ozuna and Orlando Arcia to tally Atlanta’s first back-to-back homers of the season.

Ozuna hit his three-run homer in the first inning and then added a solo shot in the third. His 50 homers since May 1, 2023, tie him with Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead within this span.

What is so significant about this date? Ozuna exited April 2023 having hit .085 with two homers and a .397 OPS through 67 plate appearances.

“He went through some struggles last year and I saw it from the other side,” Sale said. “To be able to overcome that, it's not easy. This game is hard and people can be tough on you as well, I've lived that too.”

It seemed fitting for Ozuna to further distance himself from his struggles on the same night Sale showed Boston fans and the baseball world he may have finally escaped the injury woes that limited him to just 151 innings from 2020-23.

Sale was one of baseball’s elite starters when he closed out the 2018 World Series for the Red Sox. But his days of dominance were halted when multiple injuries followed the five-year, $145 million contract he signed with Boston before the 2019 season.

Looking to show he’s doing well with the new employer he gained when he was traded for Grissom on Dec. 30, Sale tossed six scoreless innings and notched his first double-digit strikeout total of the season. This is the first time he tallied 10-plus strikeouts while throwing at least six scoreless innings since doing so for the Red Sox against the Angels on Aug. 8, 2019.

“I knew when we got him, he’s going to be good,” Ozuna said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in MLB.”

Folks are now having to say similar things about Ozuna, whose struggles followed a 2021 domestic violence arrest and a 2022 DUI.

Here's where Ozuna ranks among other MLB players in these offensive categories going back to May 1, 2023:

Home runs (50): First -- tied with Schwarber and one ahead of Matt Olson

RBIs (136): First -- Juan Soto ranks second with 131

Slugging percentage (.612): Second -- trailing only Shohei Ohtani (.683)

OPS (.984): Third -- trailing only Ohtani (1.110) and Mookie Betts (1.025)

Total bases (366): Fifth

“God gave me the opportunity to play and I come in here every day with the same energy,” Ozuna said.