ATLANTA — As the Braves progress through the remainder of this stretch that pits them against arguably the National League’s top two teams, they will attempt to continue flaunting the game-changing power they gained at the Trade Deadline.
Reacquainting with some of the energy they possessed when they carried a nine-game winning streak into Monday, the Braves proved they can hang with the game’s best while claiming a 6-5 win over the Giants on Friday night at Truist Park. Atlanta snapped a two-game skid courtesy of Jorge Soler’s go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh.
Soler’s line-drive homer to left erased a few costly Max Fried mistakes and allowed the Braves to continue comfortably sitting atop the NL East standings. They will complete this three-game series against the NL West leaders and then head to Los Angeles for a three-game set against the mighty Dodgers.
At the end of this eight-game stretch, which began with a pair of losses to the Yankees, the Braves will have a better feel for how they might stack up during the postseason. But they have already started to get a sense while winning 17 of their past 21 games.
This successful stretch began on Aug. 3, just a few days after the Braves acquired Soler from the Royals and Adam Duvall from the Marlins. The two power-hitting outfielders have made an impact while filling the void created by the season-ending knee surgery Ronald Acuña Jr. underwent in July.
Duvall helped the Braves gain this series-opening win with the homer he hit off Kevin Gausman in the second inning. The solo shot was the left fielder’s 28th of the season and the sixth he’s hit in 24 games since being acquired from Miami.
A few hours after acquiring Duval, the Braves struck a deal for Soler, who had hit 13 homers and produced a .658 OPS over 94 games for the Royals this year.
Soler’s most significant contribution since joining the Braves was this three-run homer he tallied against the first pitch thrown by Giants reliever Zack Littell. He has homered six times in his first 23 games for Atlanta.
