ATLANTA (DA) — Ozzie Albies extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a first-inning home run, and Matt Olson hit a two-run walk-off homer off Kenley Jansen in the ninth as the Atlanta Braves beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Wednesday night at Truist Park.
The game carried a strong Curaçao angle, with Albies giving Atlanta an early lead and Jansen taking the loss in the final inning.
Albies hit his seventh homer of the season off left-hander Tarik Skubal in the first inning, sending a 102.1 mph drive 400 feet. The homer came with one runner on and gave the Braves a 2-0 lead.
Albies has homered in back-to-back games for the 25th time in his career. Since April 18, he is batting .405 with a .447 on-base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage, with four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs during the 11-game hitting streak.
He ranks among the National League leaders this season in hits, total bases, batting average and slugging percentage. Albies is second in the NL with 38 hits, tied for fifth with 64 total bases, seventh with a .317 batting average and ninth with a .533 slugging percentage.
Against left-handed pitchers, Albies is batting .354, the third-highest mark in the majors among hitters with at least 40 plate appearances against lefties.
Detroit took a 3-2 lead after scoring two runs in the second inning and one in the third. Riley Greene homered for the Tigers in the third, hitting a 417-foot shot off Ritchie.
Jansen entered the ninth with Detroit ahead by one, but Olson ended the game with a two-run homer. The loss dropped Jansen to 0-2 with a 6.14 ERA.
Jansen, one of the most accomplished relievers in major league history, recorded his 479th career save earlier this month, passing Hall of Famer Lee Smith for third place on MLB’s all-time saves list. Only Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman have more.
Reynaldo López earned the win for Atlanta, improving to 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA. The Braves finished with four runs on six hits, while the Tigers had three runs on five hits.
Atlanta is now 14-3 in its last 17 games against Detroit dating to 2016 and has won all five series between the teams in that span. The Braves have not dropped a series to the Tigers since being swept in 2013.