In baseball, it's rare for one player to dominate an entire team over an extended period. However, Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson isn't just anybody.
The two-time All-Star has gone on an unprecedented run against the Detroit Tigers, via OptaSTATS
“Following today's win by the @Braves over the Tigers, Matt Olson now has a career team record of 27-3 when facing Detroit,” the account tweeted. “The 27 team wins are the most ever through 30 career games against a single American League opponent.”
Olson's Braves defeated the Tigers 7-0 Wednesday, completing a three-game sweep against the struggling AL Central outfit. The 30-year-old struggled in the series, going 0-for-10 with four strikeouts. However, he's still enjoying a decent year at the plate slashing .251/.331/.453 with 11 homers and 38 RBI.
Olson's dominance of Detroit started with the Oakland Athletics, who he played with from 2016 to 2021. The 30-year-old is hitting .255 with 28 hits, seven homers, 18 RBI, and 21 runs scored against the team all-time, via StatMuse.
At 41-31, Atlanta is treading water after losing Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. for the season. With a trip to the Bronx coming up next, can the Braves make up more ground on the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL East crown?
The Braves are showing off their depth
Atlanta may be turning a corner after an underwhelming start to the season. A combination of injuries and quiet bats were at fault, but the team's recent run has raised its batting average to .246, good for 13th in the league.
On the other hand, the Braves got lucky with the rest of the NL also being subpar. With only a handful of other winning teams to battle within the wildcard chase, the squad has been able to stay in the mix without playing at its best. General manager Alex Anthopoulos admitted as much, via The Athletic.
“Look, we haven’t played well. I’m stating the obvious there,” he said last Wednesday. “The one thing is, you look at the (NL East) standings obviously, but the fact that the majority of the National League hasn’t played well has been good for us … So as much as you can look at the standings and you’re still looking at playoff spots and so on — we have to play better obviously, but the fact that you can keep your head above water when you’re not playing well … we are fortunate that the NL hasn’t played up to its capabilities across the board.”
However, with Atlanta winning six of its last seven games, it may finally be realizing its greater potential again, even without a couple of stars.
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