ATLANTA (DA) — Ozzie Albies pushed his hitting streak to 12 games Thursday afternoon, collecting two hits off left-hander Framber Valdez in the Atlanta Braves’ 5-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Truist Park.
The Curaçao second baseman continued one of the strongest stretches of his season. Since April 18, Albies is batting .413 with a .451 on-base percentage and a .717 slugging percentage, with five doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs during the streak.
Albies also has an extra-base hit in each of his last three games.
His production has placed him at the top among second basemen this season. Albies leads the position in hits, with 40, and total bases, with 67, while tying for second with 13 extra-base hits.
He has been especially effective against left-handed pitching. Albies raised his total to 19 hits against lefties this season, the most in MLB, and is batting .373 against southpaws among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances.
Detroit scored once in the sixth inning, twice in the eighth and twice in the ninth to pull away. The Tigers finished with five runs on 12 hits, while the Braves had two runs on six hits.
Drew Anderson earned the win for Detroit, improving to 1-0 with a 5.82 ERA. Joel Payamps took the loss for Atlanta, falling to 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA. Kyle Finnegan recorded his first save.
The Braves concluded the three-game midweek series still holding a strong recent record against Detroit. Atlanta is 14-4 over its last 18 games against the Tigers dating to 2016 and has won all six series between the clubs in that span.
The Braves have not dropped a series to Detroit since being swept in 2013.