Olson's go-ahead HR jolts Braves past Mets

ATLANTA -- Matt Olson was too young to fully appreciate the many great battles between the Braves and Mets around the start of this century. But the suburban Atlanta native has enjoyed becoming a key figure in the renewed rivalry between these division foes.

“One of the main things I remember is the Mets fans chanting ‘Larry’ at Chipper [Jones] during those games,” Olson said. “I don’t know if it’s because I was a Braves fan growing up, but it feels like one of those cool division rivalries. When both teams are good, it’s some special baseball.”

Olson has quietly produced impressive power numbers while dealing with the pressures of playing for his hometown team and succeeding Freddie Freeman as Atlanta’s first baseman. But he loudly announced his presence with the go-ahead sixth-inning homer that propelled the Braves to a 4-1 win over the Mets on Tuesday night at Truist Park.

With Olson and Adam Duvall hitting two-run homers, the Braves overcame Spencer Strider’s short start and moved back to within 1 1/2 games of the first-place Mets in the National League East. Atlanta has gained nine games in the division standings while going 30-9 since the start of June.

“It’s like a playoff game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after playing in front of more than 42,000 fans for a second straight night. “Everything is magnified and it’s probably going to take what we did to win the game. They have a really good pitching staff and it’s going to be hard to bunch hits together.”

As the Braves cruised through October and won last year’s World Series title, they benefited from the power that existed throughout their lineup. They currently have seven players with at least 10 home runs, and one of those guys isn’t the always-dangerous Ronald Acuña Jr., who has gone deep just eight times this year. This Atlanta squad could join the 2019 Twins as the only teams to have at least eight players hit at least 20 homers in a season.

Quickly nearing that mark is Olson, who energized a sold-out crowd on Tuesday night when he turned on Mets starter David Peterson’s elevated 2-2 fastball and watched it travel into a pine tree beyond the center-field wall. The go-ahead two-run shot marred an impressive effort by Peterson, who entered the decisive sixth having allowed just one hit.

“That was a cool one, I was pretty fired up,” said Olson, who has six of his 14 homers within his past 21 games.

When Duvall damaged Seth Lugo with a two-run shot in the seventh, the Braves again benefited from their greatest offensive strength. They have hit 136 homers, 10 less than the mighty Yankees and 15 more than any other NL club. This isn’t a station-to-station club. It’s one that relies heavily on its ability to consistently clear outfield walls.

“That’s who we are,” Snitker said. “We hit homers.”

When the Braves acquired Olson from the A’s in March, there was an immediate expectation that the move from Oakland’s pitcher-friendly stadium could allow him to flirt with a 40-homer season. He’s currently on pace to hit 25 homers, which would be the second-lowest total he has manufactured in any of his first five 162-game seasons.

But Olson has still positioned himself to break some records and join some rare company. He leads the Majors with 33 doubles and is one pace to total 60 this year. No MLB player has hit 60-plus doubles since 1936, and Hugh Duffy set the Braves' franchise record with 51 doubles in 1894. The club’s Modern Era record was set when Marcus Giles tallied 49 doubles in 2003.

Olson is also on pace to tally 85 extra-base hits. The only Braves to do this during the Modern Era have been Hall of Famers Chipper Jones (1999), Hank Aaron (1959) and Eddie Mathews (1953).

“I don’t feel like I’ve been locked in or that everything has clicked for me yet,” Olson said. “With that, I’m happy there are some numbers to show for it. But I do think there is room for improvement.”