Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies crushed a walk-off home run on Saturday.
The Atlanta Braves walked off the Milwaukee Brewers in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon to win their 48th game of the season.
Down by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and a runner on first base, Ozzie Albies crushed an opposite-field home run against Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby. It marked Albies' second home run of the day, having also launched one in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After the game, Albies talked about how special this Braves team has been this year. "This team is really special. I've been on this team for a long time with a really special group each year. But this one is definitely, I'll say, one of the top two that I have on the list," Albies said (h/t Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
That is not a light statement from Albies. This is his 10th season with the Braves, and he was on the 2021 World Series championship team, which is likely the other club he is referring to as one of the top two.
Albies is not wrong, though. This Braves team has been dominant and sits comfortably in first place in the National League East, looking to make a return trip to the MLB playoffs this year.
The most special aspect about this group is how much adversity they have overcome, and it has not even been the All-Star break yet. Ronald Acuna Jr. has played just 53 games this year due to injury, Austin Riley has had a down year and the pitching staff has been decimated by injuries. But none of it has mattered, and Atlanta has continued to find ways to get it done.
Albies himself is a major reason why. He is one of the more accomplished players of his era, a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger, but he had a down stretch over the past two seasons that raised real questions about whether he could still be an above-average player in MLB.
He has erased those doubts this year, posting a .284 batting average, .335 on-base percentage, .788 OPS, 12 home runs and 40 RBIs, a major reason the Braves have been this good.
With Albies playing at this level and a walk-off like Saturday's serving as a reminder of just how dangerous this lineup can be in the biggest moments, it is easy to see why he is already putting this season in the same conversation as a championship year.
