Braves' Matt Olson: Caps historic season with 139 RBI
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Olson went 1-for-1 with a two-RBI single in Sunday's 10-9 loss to the Nationals.
Olson drove in Atlanta's first two runs of the game with a single in the first and then was replaced by Nicky Lopez. His base knock extended the modern franchise record to 139 RBI. He led all of baseball in RBI and home runs. The 29-year-old concludes the 2023 regular season slashing .283/.389/.604 and posted his third straight campaign with at least 100 RBI.
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Braves' Ozzie Albies: On base four times
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Albies went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored in Sunday's 10-9 loss to the Nationals.
Albies finished off his strong second half with his 14th multi-hit game of the month. Since the return from the All-Star break, Albies is slashing .304/.363/.518 with 11 homers, 46 RBI, 47 runs and a 20:50 BB:K. Among all second basemen, he finished in the top five in home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, OPS, total bases, runs, hits, doubles and batting average. Albies' strong campaign concludes with a slash line of .280/.336/.513 with 33 homers, 109 RBI, 96 runs, 13 steals and a 46:107 BB:K in 658 plate appearances.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Hits two more home runs
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Ozuna went 2-for-3 with two homers, a walk and four RBI in Sunday's 10-9 loss to the Nationals.
Ozuna got his day going with a three-run blast in the third before sending out his 40th home run of the season in the ninth. Ozuna finished with seven RBI over the final two games of the year and ends the regular season with 100 RBI for the first time since 2017. Ozuna also reached 40 homers for the first time in his career and has had a tremendous bounce back campaign. The 32-year-old heads into the playoffs slashing .274/.346/.558. His .904 OPS and .284 ISO were both his highest marks since the shortened 2020 season.
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Braves' Dylan Dodd: Hit hard in finale
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Dodd (2-2) allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out one over six innings Sunday against the Nationals. He did not factor into the decision.
Dodd gave up a four-spot to the Nationals in the first inning and then allowed another run to score in the second. He was able to settle in the rest of the way, allowing three hits over the next four innings and exiting with the game tied at 5-5. It was just the second time he's lasted six innings this year and it was the fourth straight start he allowed at least four runs. The 25-year-old finishes the year with a 7.60 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 15:12 K:BB over 34.1 innings (seven starts) and should be expected to begin next season at Triple-A Gwinnett.
Fried (finger) is scheduled to pitch in a moderated game Tuesday, which lines him up to start Game 2 of the NLDS on Oct. 9, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Fried landed on the 15-day injured list Sept. 22 with a blister on his index finger, but the team was always hoping to get him back for the postseason. The left-hander should be good to go assuming he has no issues when throwing Tuesday, which would be huge for Atlanta since Charlie Morton (finger) also went down with an injury shortly after Fried.
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Braves' Sean Murphy: Out of Sunday's lineup
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Murphy is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Atlanta has locked away the top seed in the National League, so Murphy will sit for the third time in four games to close out the season. The 28-year-old finished this season with an .843 OPS and career highs in home runs (21) and RBI (68) despite playing in just 108 games.
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Braves' Jackson Stephens: Lands on injured list
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Stephens was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday, retroactive to Sept. 30, with right elbow inflammation, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Stephens delivered two scoreless frames Friday against Washington, but an elbow issue apparently surfaced during the outing. The 29-year-old right-hander wasn't a strong bet to make Atlanta's NLDS roster even if healthy with just five big-league appearances this season, and he'll now be unavailable until at least mid-October.
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Braves' Dylan Dodd: Promoted for Sunday's start
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Dodd was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Sunday's regular-season finale against the Nationals, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The 25-year-old was previously announced as Atlanta's probable starter for Sunday, and he's now officially been added to the MLB roster. Dodd has a 7.62 ERA, 1.94 WHIP and 14:11 K:BB across 28.1 innings (six starts) this season, but he'll receive a chance to end the campaign on a positive note with game No. 162 being meaningless for Atlanta.
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Braves' Marcell Ozuna: Swats three-run homer
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Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a triple and a three-run home run in Saturday's win over the Nationals.
Ozuna tagged Jordan Weems for a three-run shot in the fifth inning, marking the outfielder's 38th long ball of 2023. Over his last 12 games, Ozuna is 17-for-49 (.347) with four home runs and 15 RBI while striking out at a 26.4 percent clip.
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Braves' Raisel Iglesias: Earns save No. 33
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Iglesias picked up the save Saturday against the Nationals. He allowed one hit while striking out one over a scoreless inning.
Iglesias converted on his third save of the last four days, holding the Nationals scoreless in the ninth while fanning a batter. After blowing a pair of saves early in September, Iglesias has logged a save in each of his last four chances. With one day left in the regular season, Iglesias ranks eighth in saves and sports a 2.75 ERA across 58 appearances (55.2 innings).
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Braves' Spencer Strider: Notches 20th win
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Strider (20-5) earned the win Saturday, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks over five innings against the Nationals. He struck out seven.
Strider closed out the 2023 regular season on a high note Saturday, posting a quality start and fanning seven batters en route to his 20th win of the campaign. While the 24-year-old allowed three or more runs in five of his last six starts, Strider managed to finish 2023 with a 3.86 ERA and 281:58 K:BB across 186.2 innings while leading the league in wins and strikeouts.
Dodd will be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to start Sunday's game against the Nationals, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.
Dodd's last big-league start dates back to Sept. 9 against the Pirates, when he surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two across four innings. He'll be tasked with eating innings for Atlanta with little left to play for before the postseason begins.
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Braves' Ronald Acuna: Two more steals before early exit
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Acuna went 1-for-2 with a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases before being replaced by Kevin Pillar in the third inning of Friday's 10-6 loss to the Nationals.
There were no injury concerns with the 25-year-old superstar; he simply got some extra rest with Atlanta having locked up the top seed in the National League playoffs. The steals were the 71st and 72nd of the season for Acuna, and he's now tied with Otis Nixon's 1991 campaign for the third-most in franchise history and the most in the modern era -- only King Kelly's 84 in 1887 and the original Billy Hamilton's 83 in 1896 rank ahead of him.
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Braves' Allan Winans: Escapes with no-decision Friday
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Winans came away with a no-decision Friday as Atlanta was downed 10-6 by the Nationals, surrendering six runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out two.
The Nats clubbed five homers in total on the night, but Winans was responsible for the bulk of the barrage, serving up long balls to Carter Kieboom and Jake Alu in the fourth inning and Keibert Ruiz in the sixth. The 28-year-old right-hander had given up zero homers and only four runs in 11.1 innings over his prior two September starts, but Friday's poor effort might have been enough to get Atlanta to reconsider a potential role for Winans in the postseason rotation, even if Max Fried (finger) and Charlie Morton (finger) remain sidelined.
Elder won't start as originally scheduled Sunday against Washington, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
With Elder having already thrown a career-high 180.2 innings this season, 21.2 IP more than he worked across all levels in 2022, Atlanta will skip his turn in the rotation ahead of the postseason. The 24-year-old has given up 13 runs in 12.1 innings over his last three starts, so perhaps the extended rest period will help him return to form in the NLDS. The team has not yet named a replacement starter for the final game of the regular season.
