LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Hector Olivera’s first home run of spring training was scrubbed from the statistics when the Braves’ split-squad game against the Tigers was rained out after four innings, one shy of being an official game. But all that mattered to him and the Braves was that he hit it.
That’s another encouraging sign for Olivera, who has hit .400 this spring and was tied for fourth in the majors with 20 hits before Friday, though 16 of those hits were singles. The left fielder’s two-run homer in the fourth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and came against Tigers right-hander Shane Greene.
The Braves have hoped to get a bit more power from Olivera and the swing that he worked to smooth out this winter with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer. Getting a long ball or two before the season begins can only help the second-year Cuban player’s confidence at the plate, the way repetitions in left field have helped him start to smooth out the rough edges in his defense after a shift from third base to the outfield.
Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was asked about Olivera’s defense after he made a couple of good plays in Thursday’s game against the Phillies, and said he no longer felt it was a given that Olivera would be replaced for defense in the late innings of close games.
“We had a staff meeting (Thursday morning) and we were talking about certain guys, who you feel comfortable with and who you don’t, and they asked me about Olivera playing left field,” Gonzalez said. “I said, you know, from what I’ve seen right now, he’s not a complete (must-make) defensive substitution at the end of the game. Obviously you’ve got to let it play out and see how it happens, but right now I feel like he’s gotten better the whole spring and you feel like he can do the job out there.”
