Many may not notice these from the Braves’ series win over Oakland

The homestand was a mixed bag for the Braves, but they were able to end it on a good note.

The Atlanta Braves salvaged a 3-4 homestand by defeating the Oakland Athletics 3-1 on Sunday. The Braves opened their homestand by losing three of four to the Nationals. Atlanta is 33-24 this season and seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies, who meet the Cardinals on Sunday night.

Sunday’s victory improved the Braves’ record against the Athletics to 18-7 since interleague play began in 1997. They are 10-4 all-time against Oakland in Atlanta, having won seven consecutive prior to Saturday’s loss.

Former Athletics do damage

Matt Olson gave the Braves an early lead with a run-scoring single in the first inning of Sunday’s rubber game. He drove in a run in all three games in the series and is hitting .291/.333/.600 with four homers, five doubles and a 158 wRC+ since May 20. That span has seen a bit of normalization for Olson’s line despite a middling xwOBA — he had a .317 wOBA on a .371 xwOBA through May 19, and has a .395 wOBA on a .336 xwOBA since.

Sean Murphy hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game, blooping one in just inside the right field line that was not collected by any of the three fielders converging on it. Murphy is 2-for-13 since returning from the 10-day Injured List after missing 49 games due to a strained oblique muscle. He needs to stop hitting the ball into the ground, but given that the entire team did so for about three weeks, it’s not surprising that he’s still figuring things out after the long layoff.

Marcell Ozuna extends on-base streak and continues to rake

Marcell Ozuna reached base twice in Sunday’s triumph, extending his streak to 26 games. This is the second-longest streak in his career. He had a 36-game on-base streak in 2016 with the Marlins. Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe are the only other players with an active on-base streak longer than Ozuna’s.

The Braves’ DH leads the National League with 53 RBI. His 53 RBI entering Sunday were the most by a Braves player through the first 56 games since Ozuna did it in 2020. Hank Aaron got 53 RBIs in his first 56 games in 1959.

After a walk and a double on Sunday, Ozuna’s wRC+ is at 179 for the season. Ozuna, Jarred Kelenic, and Chadwick Tromp are the only Braves who have hit more than 60% of their barrels; Ozuna and Adam Duvall lead the team with home runs on half of their barrels, while no other player has more than 36%. (The league average homer/barrel is currently 45 percent, down from 50 percent last year).

First-inning offense

Early and frequent scoring was a key component of the 2023 Braves offensive. The 2023 Braves set a team record in the first inning, scoring 146 runs. Atlanta has scored in the first inning of all three games versus Oakland. Prior to the series, they had failed to score in the first inning for ten consecutive games. That was their longest period without a first-inning run since a 12-game skid in 2022.

Braves handling American League competition

With Sunday’s victory, the Braves improved to 13-6 in 2024 interleague play. Their.684 winning percentage is the third greatest in the majors, trailing only the Phillies (.818) and the Yankees (.714). They’ll face two more American League opponents on their upcoming road trip. Atlanta will face the Red Sox in a two-game series at Fenway Park beginning Tuesday. Following a four-game series in Washington, they will finish the trip with a three-game set against the Orioles in Baltimore.