{"id":78732,"date":"2025-08-16T12:35:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T12:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732"},"modified":"2025-08-16T12:35:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T12:35:17","slug":"unstoppable-braves-offense-rediscovers-its-spark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732","title":{"rendered":"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Better late than never.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\"Miami<\/picture><\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves | Todd Kirkland\/GettyImages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

There are plenty of reasons as to why this season has been a disappointing one for the Atlanta Braves. They\u2019ve been snakebitten by injuries. The pitching staff hasn\u2019t stepped up. And, at least early in the season, there just wasn\u2019t enough pop in their lineup.<\/p>\n

And while most of those things are still true today (have you\u00a0seen the state of their pitching staff?), their offense has finally turned things around, although in a classic case of \u201ctoo little too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

Against all odds, it looks like the Braves\u2019 offense has found itself again<\/h2>\n

Over the last two weeks, the Braves have slashed .242\/.327.\/.411 as a team, which seems rather pedestrian at first glance. While their .242 batting average is exactly the same as their team batting average this year, their .411 slugging percentage is a great sign considering they still have a dismal .392 slugging percentage for the season. It sat at .388 prior to the team\u2019s recent power surge.<\/p>\n

That power surge has been led by a bit of an unlikely catalyst, as Marcell Ozuna has posted a .313\/.452\/.711 slashline over that time period with five home runs and 10 RBI.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, it seemed like Ozuna wouldn\u2019t be on the team after the trade deadline due to his status as an impending free agent, but he ended up staying with Atlanta and has been mashing ever since. While it remains to be seen if his hot streak will result in the Braves electing to\u00a0make him an offer in free agency, it\u2019s still a great sign as the Braves look to build some momentum toward next season.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not the only maligned Brave who has stepped up recently either.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Michael Harris II was struggling so badly that the fan base was forced to ask itself if the former Rookie of the Year winner truly was a\u00a0building block for the future.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s beginning to look like a distant memory now, as he\u2019s\u00a0turned things around\u00a0to the tune of a .352 average and .648 slugging over the past two weeks as of August 14. He helped jumpstart the Braves\u2019 nine-run fourth inning on Thursday with a huge grand slam.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt good right before the break in St. Louis,\u201d Harris said,\u00a0per MLB.com\u2019s Mark Bowman. \u201dThen, I knew during the break I just had to continue to work on what I was feeling and trying to better what I was trying to do. So, coming out of the break, I made sure I was still working on what I wanted to work on. Now, it’s giving me results in the game.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Although this season has been a frustrating one for all of the Braves\u2019 fanbase, the recent uptick in offense is a reminder of how good this team can be \u2014 and how much talent they\u2019ll have next season. Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. and Matt Olson won\u2019t be going anywhere. Drake Baldwin will be a year older (and maybe with a Rookie of the Year win under his belt). Austin Riley will be healthy again.<\/p>\n

This year has been a nightmare due to everyone on the roster being hurt or taking a step back. The past two weeks have served as a wake-up call that the nightmare could be over soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Better late than never. Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves | Todd Kirkland\/GettyImages There are plenty of reasons as to why this season has been a disappointing one… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":78737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nUnstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Better late than never. Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves | Todd Kirkland\/GettyImages There are plenty of reasons as to why this season has been a disappointing one...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-16T12:35:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsThao\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732\",\"name\":\"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-16T12:35:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-16T12:35:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png\",\"width\":760,\"height\":760},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731\",\"name\":\"MsThao\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsThao\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=3\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark - NEWS USA","og_description":"Better late than never. Miami Marlins v Atlanta Braves | Todd Kirkland\/GettyImages There are plenty of reasons as to why this season has been a disappointing one...","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-08-16T12:35:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":760,"height":760,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MsThao","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsThao","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732","name":"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png","datePublished":"2025-08-16T12:35:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-16T12:35:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/2-64.png","width":760,"height":760},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=78732#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Unstoppable? Braves\u2019 Offense Rediscovers Its Spark"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/73dec88841ffe3be696a72d46df40731","name":"MsThao","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/23335ad696d6700b03ba8d09f84a67eadb58cde164fc044a22845ec8be19771f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsThao"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=3"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78739,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78732\/revisions\/78739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/78737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}