The Braves had a historic month of June, shattering multiple franchise records and several National League records. The team were 21-4 during the month, best in the majors.
They were led by an overpowering offense that averaged seven runs per game. Even in games where the team didn’t hit that total, the Braves were 10-3 (.769).
The team heads into July tied for the best winning percentage in the major leagues at .667. They got there with one of the more impressive months in major-league history.
“As a pitcher, you look at the lineup (and) you’re looking at, ‘All right, where are my outs tonight? Who am I not giving into? Who am I not letting beat me?’” pitcher Michael Soroka said. “You can’t do that with his lineup, one through nine.”
JUNE BY THE NUMBERS:
21-4
The Braves were 21-4 (.840) in June, tying the Atlanta-era record for wins in a month. The mark most recently was hit in June 2022, when the Braves were 21-5. The 2023 winning percentage is the best for a month in franchise history.
13-1
The team was 13-1 (.928) at home, turning Truist Park into a fortress.
8-3
The Braves still had success on the road. The Braves were 8-3 away from home in June.
14/15
The Braves heated up at the end of the month. They won 14 of their last 15 games.
61
The team set a franchise and NL record with 61 home runs. Matt Olson led them with 11. It was the eighth month in franchise history with 50 or more home runs, set most recently in May. This season is the first in franchise history with two such months in a season.
175
The Braves scored 175 runs in June, best in the major leagues (22 more than the second-place Reds despite playing two fewer games). The mark was the eighth best in franchise history, the best since June 2019.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
8-plus
They scored eight or more runs nine times, including six games of 10 or more runs. The high was 16 runs, scored on the last day of the month.
.307
The team hit .307 in June, the eighth-best mark in franchise history. It was the best mark since July 2006. The second-best team in June, the Guardians, hit .279.
.356
Ronald Acuña Jr. had the second-best average on the Braves in June (Michael Harris II hit .372), but did the most damage. Acuña had nine home runs and 22 RBIs in the month, adding 14 stolen bases.
.572
The Braves slugged .572 in June, a franchise and NL record. No team has had that high of a slugging percentage since Cleveland in April/March 1948.
.944
They had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .944, a franchise record. The mark was the third best in NL history and the best in baseball since Houston in July 2017.
3.87
Despite starting eight different pitchers, the Braves’ staff ended June with a 3.87 ERA.
248
Braves pitchers struck out opponents 248 times.
19-8, 18-8
The Phillies (19-8) and the Marlins (18-8) had the second and third best June records in the majors. The Marlins started the month 4-1/2 games behind the Braves. The Phillies started eight games back. The Marlins now trail by seven games, while the Phillies are 11 games back.
The Mets were in second place, trailing by 3-1/2 games. They are now 18-1/2 games behind the Braves.
Here's the list of teams, since 1901, to bat .307 with a .944 OPS and hit 61 home runs in a month:
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) July 1, 2023
The 2023 Braves in June.
In this morning’s Braves Dispatch, I looked at teams that, like these Braves in June, have posted at least a .300 average and at least a .915 OPS in a single month.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) July 1, 2023
Since 1901, it’s happened less than 30 times. https://t.co/lYmLUnpvNi
Every MLB team facing the Braves in June. pic.twitter.com/C59t29NWct
— Sports Enjoyer (@jbrownie__) July 1, 2023
Quotables
“This is (like) you make a team on MLB The Show and play on rookie (level).” – Soroka
“I think we just kind of all started progressively clicking as a unit at once. It felt like there (was) just good at-bat after good at-bat. ... It’s a pretty stout lineup” – Olson
“It’s fun. One through nine, it doesn’t matter. Any time (in) the game, any situation, you like whoever’s up there. … It’s been fun to come to the yard” – third baseman Austin Riley
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