ATLANTA (DA) — Ozzie Albies opened the season with two hits, including a first-inning homer down the left-field line, and made his ninth consecutive Opening Day start at second base for Atlanta, the most such starts at the position in franchise history.
Albies also homered on Opening Day last season and now has three career season-opening home runs. Only Eddie Mathews, with seven, and Joe Torre, with four, have more for the franchise. Freddie Freeman, Andruw Jones, Brian McCann, Fred McGriff and Dale Murphy also hit three.
Dating to Sept. 17, 2025, Albies has gone 24 plate appearances without a strikeout, the second-longest active streak in the majors behind San Francisco’s Luis Arraez at 55. He also carries a five-game hitting streak dating to last season.
The switch-hitting second baseman made his ninth career Opening Day roster this year, all with Atlanta from 2018 through 2026. On Aug. 23, 2025, he appeared in his 1,000th game with the club, becoming the first Brave to reach that milestone since Freddie Freeman in 2014.
Among second basemen in Atlanta’s modern-era franchise history, Albies ranks first in hits, home runs, doubles, triples, extra-base hits, RBI, runs, stolen bases and total bases. His 2025 season ended five games early because of a fractured left hamate after he had started all 157 games at second base.