ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Nick Markakis delivered the big blow Wednesday in the Braves’ 5-2 win over the Rays, a three-run homer in the third inning that gave Atlanta a five-run lead on the way to its seventh consecutive road win.
For the 13-year veteran, it was his seventh homer in the 35th game of the season, leaving him just one shy of the eight he hit in 160 games in 2017. Markakis, 34, last hit 15 homers in 2011 and his only 20-homer seasons were in 2007 (a career-high 23 homers) and 2008 (20).
The homer Wednesday came against Ryan Yarbrough and was Markakis’ third this season against a left-hander. Only four other left-handed hitters in the majors had as many as three homers off lefties before Wednesday.
Six of his past nine homers have come against lefties.
“(Yarbrough) got his punch-outs and got his swings-and-misses, but they also had at-bats where it seemed like they were on everything,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Not quite sure what to make of it. Obviously the homer was the dagger.”
Markakis is on a pace for a stunning 32 homers in a full season, after totaling 24 during his first three seasons with the Braves. The Woodstock High graduate signed a four-year, $44 million free-agent contract with the Braves after spending first nine seasons with the Orioles through 2014.
Neck surgery to fuse a vertebrae following the 2014 season sapped his strength and led to a career-low three homers in his first season with the Braves, but Markakis hit .296 that year and came back with a 13-homer, 89-RBI season in 2016. He passed the career 2,000-hit standard last season and now, in the final year of his contract, Markakis is enjoying the best start of his career.
He’s batting .338 with a league-leading 47 hits and a team-high 28 RBIs for first-place Atlanta one of baseball’s early surprises with its 21-15 record including 13-7 on the road.
Here’s what Markakis had to say during an interview after Wednesday’s game:
On Braves manager Brian Snitker saying at spring training he could immediately tell you were ready in more ways than one:
“The older you get the harder you’ve got to work. I started a little earlier (in the offseason) this year, really dedicated the offseason to working out and being with the family. Just hard work and getting ready for a 162-game season.”
Has it been a while since you’ve been in this kind of groove with your power stroke, where it’s been there on such a consistent basis?
“It’s been a while. Just seeing the ball really well, timing’s really good, and looking for pitches and not missing them.”
On facing lefties and thriving against them:
“I’ve always hung in there against lefties. I am hitting them at a decent clip this year compared to in the past. Like I said, be on time and don’t miss pitches when they make mistakes.”
On the impressive run the team’s on, playing well in all aspects especially on the road:
“Yeah, Julio (Teheran) had another great start (Wednesday). Pounded the zone when he fell behind hitters. His off-speed stuff was working and he was getting a lot of 2-0 takes, 2-0 swings and misses. He did a great job, he filled up the zone and he gave us a chance to go out there and score runs.”
You home run broke the game open, what were you looking for in that situation?
“I was just looking for a ball over the plate and trying to put a good swing on it. He left me a ball middle-in. I think he was trying to go away with it, and I just took advantage of it.”
On hitting homers but not focusing on that:
“When you go up there and try to hit homers you get into bad habits. I was just trying to hit the ball out in front and put a good swing on it. When you’re on time and hit the ball out front, usually you’ll get good results.”
On the team’s seven-game road winning streak:
“We had a short homestand, end up getting swept (by the Giants last weekend) which is not something you want to do at home. But a majority of our games have been on the road this year. As long as we keep winning like we are on the road, we’ll get our home situation figured out.”
