Olson’s Two-Homer Show Powers Braves Past Juan Soto and the Mets

Matt Olson just reminded everyone why the Braves handed him that massive contract. On Friday night at Truist Park, the first baseman authored one of those vintage performances that make opposing pitchers want to request a trade, launching two solo home runs to lead Atlanta to a 5-3 victory over the Mets. This wasn’t a particularly close affair, and frankly, it shouldn’t have been. The Braves’ bats woke up early and stayed awake, while Christian Scott‘s Mets pitching staff couldn’t locate the strike zone if you gave them a GPS unit.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Scott was an absolute mess out there. Four walks in four innings of work is the kind of performance that gets you demoted faster than you can say “depth chart shuffle.” He did strike out seven, which is the only statistic preventing this outing from being an unmitigated disaster. But walks will kill you in baseball, especially when you’re facing a Braves lineup that showed up ready to punish fastballs in the zone. Scott lasted just four innings, giving way to relief pitching that proved equally ineffective at keeping Atlanta’s lineup in check.

The Braves’ Offensive Onslaught

It’s hard to overstate how dominant Atlanta was with runners in scoring position and bases empty alike. Michael Harris II got things rolling in the second inning with a two-run homer that made it 2-0. Ozzie Albies followed up in the third with his own solo blast. Then came the Olson show: a solo shot in the fifth, and another one in the eighth that put this game completely out of reach. Four different Braves homered, and they only needed four to win. That’s the kind of efficiency that makes playoff teams dangerous.

Juan Soto kept the Mets honest with a two-run homer of his own in the third inning, cutting the lead to 3-2. For a moment, you could sense the Mets might have some fight left in them. But that moment evaporated faster than cold beer on a Georgia summer night. New York’s lineup was putrid outside of Soto’s contribution, and their relief pitching situation looked desperate even before it got desperate.

Holmes and Iglesias Preserve the Win

Grant Holmes wasn’t spectacular by any stretch, but he was competent. Five innings, five hits, one earned run, and two strikeouts. In a game where the opposing starter implodes, competent is more than enough. Then you had Raisel Iglesias entering for the save opportunity in the ninth, needing just one inning to lock things down. He allowed three hits and an unearned run (courtesy of Bo Bichette’s RBI single), but struck out one and got the job done. This is what happens when your offense gives you a 5-1 lead: your closer can pitch with confidence.

The Mets scored a token run in the ninth to avoid total humiliation, but by then the game’s verdict had long been rendered. This was Atlanta’s night, Atlanta’s division, and frankly, on the evidence of Friday’s display, still very much Atlanta’s conference to lose. The Braves’ patience with their offensive weapons is paying dividends, and if Olson continues to produce at this level, they’ll be extremely difficult to beat in any meaningful games.