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Michael Harris II made a spectacular (pun intended) comeback.
He hit a grand slam that cleared the right field stone wall and into McCovey Cove on his first plate appearance after coming off the disabled list. The Braves thrashed San Francisco 13-2 on Wednesday night, with the bomb giving them a five-run lead in the opening inning.
The first three games of this four-game set were won by Atlanta. On Thursday, the Braves will try to complete the sweep.
Five things to note About Michael Harris II :
1) Harris has not been on the plate since he sustained a Grade 2 hamstring injury on June 14. He expressed his excitement about coming back on Tuesday. It would be similar to the first day of school, he remarked. His arrival was heralded by a loud crack. Robbie Ray, a left-hander, sent a knuckle-curve to Harris near the top of the zone, and Harris crushed it.
This was the kind of homer that made the audience go, “Ooooh.” A man in a kayak attempted to paddle over and catch the ball after it was launched at a speed of 107 mph and shot into the air. The Braves won 5-0. At Oracle Park, Harris’s sole “splash hit” of the season was a home run that ended up in the water. In 2024, he is the first opponent of the Giants to achieve so. After missing a significant portion of the season with Harris and other important players in their lineup, the Braves were happy to see and hear Harris’ boisterous comeback.
He made it known to everyone that he was returning.
2) The Braves came into Wednesday having won two games by one run in ten innings. They had also played three close games in Colorado previously, two of which ended in defeats.
It was the kind of night they needed.
In this sport, you can never sit back and relax, yet they took the lead right away and added. It wasn’t until the very end that they had to bite their nails and perspire.
They created and then preserved a big buffer behind four home runs. After the fourth of those home runs, they were ahead by nine runs.
For them, this must have been a welcome break.
An opposition position player on the mound to cap off the lineup’s night is a universal indicator of a successful offensive outing.
For starters, how goes it?
3) The game started with a plunk for Jorge Soler. Ray then struck Austin Riley as well. Following Marcell Ozuna’s strikeout, Ray walked Matt Olson. After that, he led Orlando Arcia 0–2 and proceeded to pitch four balls in a row, including a walk that resulted in a run.
Even without putting the ball in play, the Braves were up.
It’s strange yet exciting to play baseball, huh?
4) Harris’s grand slam victory made it all worthwhile. After that, Ray struck out Ramón Laureano, but he closed the game by walking Sean Murphy.
Ray had the shortest start of his career from the Braves. Prior to Wednesday, the left-hander has thrown in 230 games, 226 of which were starts.
Never had he pitched less than three innings.
5)The Braves were ahead by five runs, yes. However, in the first inning, they erected it.
There remained a great deal of baseball.
Luckily for Atlanta, Grant Holmes had what may be considered his greatest big league performance to date. He pitched a career-high seven innings while giving up just two runs.
Holmes made sure that this would not be a place for funny business.
6) Soler did not go out to left field for the bottom of the fourth inning after grounding out to the pitcher to conclude the top of the inning. Jarred Kelenic, on the other hand, ran outside.
Ironically, it was left hamstring soreness that caused the Braves to pull Soler as a precaution; this is the same hamstring that pushed Harris out of the June game.
