MIAMI – If you could ever have a sour taste in your mouth from a blowout victory, this might be it.
The Braves beat the Marlins, 14-6, on Wednesday at loanDepot Park, which included Marcell Ozuna’s best game of the season. But they saw Kyle Wright (right shoulder soreness) and Michael Harris II (jammed right knee) suffer injuries in the process.
Five observations on the win:
1. As Ozuna struggled, going further into somewhat of a historic slump, he began caring too much and trying too hard. He kept working, but he put far too much pressure on himself.
Perhaps some of that weight fell off his shoulders in this win, when he went 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs, including a grand slam.
“Sometimes, you have to put your head down,” Ozuna said. “But always in your mind, you have to keep your head up and keep grinding and keeping being successful and keep giving your best. For me, it’s hard, a hard moment to start the season. hard April for me. I had to grit it out in the new month and say ‘let’s go’ and get my stress out and do my best.”
In the second inning against Braxton Garrett, Ozuna cranked a 434-foot grand slam to left field, his first home run since April 7. In his second at-bat of the game, he sent a solo shot to left field off Garrett.
“Any time you have a night like he did, it’s good for anybody in the game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “The guys that are hot and have a night like that feel really good about it. That’s good. Good for him. He’s continued to work, he’s had a great attitude. Hasn’t went the way he really wanted things to, but he’s not cashing his chips in, that’s for sure.”
2. Over the first two games of this series, Ozuna has five hits.
For context: He had five hits in 59 at-bats when he arrived in Miami.
He is beginning to feel more like himself.
“Right now, I’m enjoying the game and don’t have anything in the mind,” Ozuna said. “My mind is clearer and I just go up there and look for good pitches to swing (at), and if I fail, I fail. If I have success, I have success. Everything is just, ‘Have fun and then enjoy my teammates, enjoy the team, enjoy the game and do well.’”
When talking about ups and downs, Ozuna appeared to allude to his off-field mistakes. He said he had a lot of off-the-field distractions. But now, he said, he’s in a good place with his family and his teammates.
He said he’s been trying to do too much because he wants to help the team.
“I’m trying to show how important it is for me to give my best to my team and my teammates,” Ozuna said. “And the coaches. And the fans, they pay to see me, so sometimes I feel embarrassed and try to do too much trying to show them what talent I have. I have to just relax, enjoy my game and swing the bat.”
3. In the third inning, Wright departed with right shoulder soreness. He tried to convince pitching coach Rick Kranitz to let him stay in the game, but Kranitz had none of it.
“At that point, I wasn’t being smart,” Wright said. “I give Kranny a lot of credit for protecting me from myself.”
Wright will hit the injured list.
Harris, however, will not. The Braves said he jammed his right knee after awkwardly falling on it when he stumbled after touching first base while trying to beat out a grounder to end the top of the sixth inning.
The Braves will evaluate Harris more on Thursday.
4. The Braves hit six home runs. Ronald Acuña Jr. launched one that traveled 461 feet. Harris blasted a two-run shot. Ozzie Albies also homered. So, too, did Austin Riley, who has struggled lately.
“It was good we scored the runs tonight, that’s for sure,” Snitker said. “At one point, I wasn’t sure what direction this game was gonna take. We came out and scored a bunch early and then all of a sudden, they came roaring back and then I’m thinking, Man, we got a lot of game to play, so anything can happen right now.’ So I wasn’t real sure what direction that thing is gonna go, and then I’m glad we just kept scoring.”
5. The Braves are recalling lefty Dylan Dodd to start Thursday’s game after they pushed back Max Fried to Friday. Dodd will presumably take Wright’s spot when the Braves put him on the injured list.
Dodd made two starts in the majors in April. Since the Braves optioned him, he has allowed eight earned runs over 14 2/3 innings in Triple A.
Stat to know
200 - Ozuna has 200 career home runs.
Quotable
“My confidence (comes from) working in the cage, working in (batting practice). Don’t try to do too much, don’t get stressed out and try to hit the ball 500 feet. Just get hits, hits, hits, hits and that’s it. And then when I’m thinking of that, of getting hits, the homer comes.” - Ozuna
Up next
The Braves will see Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo in Thursday’s series finale, which begins at 4:10 p.m.
