Braves tie MLB record with 307 homers
ATLANTA — One final power milestone in the 2023 regular season for the Atlanta Braves was especially memorable for Marcell Ozuna.
The 32-year-old designated hitter homered twice as the Braves tied Major League Baseball’s singleseason record of 307, though it came in a 10-9 loss to the Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon as Jacob Young drove in two runs with a go-ahead single in the top of the ninth.
Ozuna, who had already eclipsed the career high of 37 homers he hit with the 2017 Florida Marlins, got to 40 this year with a ninth-inning drive off Kyle Finnegan, and he also had four RBIs to reach 100 for the first time since 2017. He batted .274 this season, remarkable final stats for a player who hit two homers in his first 18 games and was batting .189 on May 19.
“People didn’t believe the way I believe in myself,” said Ozuna, who hit a three-run homer in the third inning.
After he walked in the seventh, he thought he wouldn’t have another opportunity to hit No. 40.
“God gave me another chance, and I did it,” Ozuna said, adding “it feels amazing.”
Atlanta matched the MLB record set by the 2019 Minnesota Twins. The Braves set an MLB record with a .501 slugging percentage, topping the .495 for the 2019 Houston Astros.
“It’s been a good year for a lot of us,” said Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson, whose 54 homers and 137 RBIs led the majors. “It doesn’t end now. This is when the fun starts.”
The Braves are the first team with four players with at least 35 homers, with National League MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. (41) and third baseman Austin Riley (37) joining Olson and Ozuna. Second baseman Ozzie Albies hit 33 homers.
Atlanta won its sixth straight NL East Division title, secured a first-round bye in the postseason with the NL’s best record, and finished an MLB-best 104-58 to earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The top-seeded Braves will enter the playoffs Saturday with the start of their best-of-five NL Division Series.
Their opponent will be the winner of a best-of-three wild-card matchup between the No. 4 Philadelphia Phillies (90-72) and No. 5 Miami Marlins (84-77), who finished second and third, respectively, behind the Braves in the NL East. The New York Mets (74-87) were fourth, while the Nationals were fifth for the fourth straight season since winning the franchise’s lone World Series title in 2019. Washington did improve to 71-91 this year after going 55-107 in 2022.
The Braves, who had a first-round bye last year after going 101-61 but were eliminated in four games in their NLDS against the Phillies, have scheduled intrasquad games from Tuesday through Thursday at Truist Park that are open to the public.
Atlanta reliever Michael Tonkin (7-3) blew a onerun lead in the ninth inning Sunday, issuing a basesloaded walk to Drew Milas that made it 8-all. Young followed with the two-run single.
In the bottom half, Finnegan also gave up a double to Michael Harris II after Ozuna’s homer, but the Washington closer finished the ninth for his 28th save in 36 chances this year.
Orlando Arcia’s runscoring single off Hunter Harvey (4-4) in the eighth gave Atlanta a one-run lead.
The Braves set a Truist Park record with attendance of 3,191,505, including Sunday’s sellout of 40,697.
The previous record was 3,129,931 last season, which came after Atlanta’s 2021 World Series title. The Braves had 54 sellouts in 81 home games this year.