ATLANTA — Matt Olson said it’s no mystery why he’s leading the majors in RBIs right now: In the Atlanta Braves’ powerful lineup, their cleanup hitter is often batting with runners on base.
The 29-year-old first baseman drove in five runs with two homers, including a go-ahead, two-run blast in the eighth, and the Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 on Sunday to cap a sweep of the high-scoring series between two of the National League’s top teams.
Olson has 35 homers, the most in the NL, and 88 RBIs, the most in the majors. The Braves scored 29 runs while winning all three games at Truist Park against the Brewers; Atlanta took two of three games in Milwaukee the weekend before.
“There’s always dudes on base,” Olson said. “I feel like I’m rarely taking at-bats with the bases empty.”
The only player in the majors with more homers than Olson is two-way star Shohei Ohtani, with 39 for the American League’s Los Angeles Angels, who begin a three-game series at Atlanta on Monday night.