Olson Leads Offensive Explosion, Braves Return to Win Column Over Rockies

The Atlanta Braves' losing streak has ended at six games. On Saturday night, the Braves exploded to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 11-8.

Atlanta improved to 61-55 with the win, while the Rockies fell to 43-75. It was Atlanta's second six-game losing streak since the All-Star break, but they avoided their first seven-game losing streak since 2016 once again.

Here are some key takeaways from the game:

Homers help Braves win back-and-forth affair

Atlanta was shut out two games in a row to begin the week. They ended the week with an 11-run game, the most runs the Braves have scored in a game since March 30 versus the Philadelphia Phillies, when they tallied 12.

It was their fourth straight game with five or more runs, and it was led by the 23rd multi-homer game of Matt Olson's career. The first baseman's continued resurgence accounted for half of a four-homer night for the Braves.

First, Olson mashed a grand slam in the third inning before launching a two-run shot in the seventh to increase his total to 20 on the year. Marcell Ozuna also bashed a solo shot , putting him back in a tie with Shohei Ohtani for the NL homer lead with 35.

The Rockies answered after each long ball, tying the game at five and eight, but in the seventh inning, the Braves gave the ultimate mic drop. Olson's second bomb made it 10-8, and then Jorge Soler went deep for the second night in a row to cap off the scoring at 11-8.

The Braves offense is enjoying a breath of fresh air in Colorado. They racked up 11 runs on 11 hits tonight, and they have 16 runs with seven homers in the first two games at Coors Field.

Olson continues resurgence

Last year's dinger king looked more like himself on Saturday night.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers and a career-high six RBIs. Following his go-ahead shot, he is 9-for-32 with three homers and two doubles in nine games in August.

After setting a franchise record with 54 homers in 2023, the Braves first baseman is getting back on track. He has six homers in his past 13 games after only tallying four homers in all of June.

Pitching survives Coors shootout

It was a typical Coors Field game, but the Braves pitching battled though it.

Max Fried persevered after former Braves outfielder Sam Hilliard (3-for-4, five RBIs) launched a three-run homer in the second inning and an RBI double in the third. Fried rebounded and gave Atlanta five innings despite allowing four runs on seven hits. He also struck out nine.

After Olson's grand slam gave the Braves the momentum back, Aaron Bummer took over for Fried in the sixth and surrendered three runs in 0.2 innings on four hits. That retied the game at eight.

After that, however, the back end of the Braves bullpen slammed the door with scoreless frames from Denver native Pierce Johnson, Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias. With the Braves reclaiming the final lead in the seventh, Johnson got the win to improve to 5-4, and Iglesias earned his 24th save of the season.

The Braves can still win this series

The series in Colorado will now have a rubber match on Sunday. The Braves evened up the series at a game a piece on Saturday and will go for their first series win of the month tomorrow before heading to San Francisco to face the Giants.

Spencer Schwellenbach will pitch for the first time in nine days against Kyle Freeland with the series versus the Rockies on the line at 3:10 p.m. EST on Sunday.