Ozuna, Arcia Lead Braves to Series Sweep of Astros

Everyone knows about the Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr., last season’s National League MVP who has the perfect combination of hitting for average, hitting for power, and speed. Last season he hit .337, with 41 home runs and 106 RBIs and 73 stolen bases on his way to the National League Most Valuable Player Award. This year, he’s off to a bit of a slow start for him, hitting .294 with one homer and six RBIs and eight stolen bases (second in the NL) in 17 games played. We’re confident Acuna will pick up the pace, but in the meantime, there are plenty of other bats that are doing the job for the Braves.

The Braves completed a three game sweep of the Houston Astros on April 17th. Atlanta improved to 12-5 on the season, in 1st place in the NL East, two games ahead of Philadelphia. In the series finale with the Astros, Braves’ DH Marcell Ozuna hit his National League leading eighth home run of the season and drove in his major league leading 23rd run batted in. Ozuna is also hitting .352 on the season. Ozuna was understandably overshadowed by Acuna last season, but Marcell hit 40 homers with 100 RBIs in 2023. Atlanta shortstop Orlando Arcia drove in what proved to be the winning run on an RBI single in the 10th inning for a 5-4 Braves’ victory. Arcia is hitting a cool .377, and drove in five runs in the three games at Houston.

The Braves are at or near the top in most hitting categories, and the offense will have to remain potent as the ace of the pitching staff last year will miss the rest of the season due to injury. Spencer Strider, who was 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA and 281 strikeouts in 2023, underwent UCL surgery and will miss the rest of the season. That’s a lot to try to replace.

Next up for Atlanta: the Braves will host the World Series champion Texas Rangers April 19th-21st.