Extra-base machine Matt Olson building momentum for strong second half

Braves first baseman continued flurry to end first half with breakthrough at-bat vs. Angels’ Shohei Ohtani 

ATLANTA — No one would forgive Matt Olson if he didn’t want the first half of the season to come to an end.

He had hit five home runs over the last 11 games before the All-Star break — the most the first baseman had in that long of a stretch in a Braves uniform — giving Olson the most extra-base hits of anyone in the National League entering Friday.

But after playing 20 straight days without an off-day, Olson took advantage of the four-day break. He hit the lake with friends, watched his six All-Star teammates and coaching staff take part in the festivities in Dodger Stadium, though he did return to Truist Park a day early to get some swings in.

“You want to keep things going when you’re feeling good, but I think I was ready to kick the feet up a little bit and relax,” he said.

“Hopefully four days off didn’t mess with anything.”

They clearly didn’t.

Shohei Ohtani was mowing down Braves, having allowed one hit through six innings, and two base runners until Olson sent an 87.4 mph splitter deep into the Chophouse seats, sparking Atlanta’s 8-1 win Friday night.

“He’s a very talented arm,” Olson said. “I was able to get a pitch over the middle.”

Given his history, there may not have been a worse matchup for the surging Olson in the first game back from the layoff.

He went into the series opener 1-for-13 (.077) against the All-Star right-hander with six strikeouts and a .312 OPS. Among pitchers Olson’s logged at least 17 PAs against, he’s only had a lower OPS vs. Gerrit Cole (.087), Madison Bumagarner (.118) and Zack Greinke (.293), and only Bumgarner and Cole — who he’s hitless against — have held Olson to a lower average.

Those struggles continued as Ohtani got Olson to fly out to left field on a 90.5 mph cutter in his first at-bat, then popped him up to center in the fourth inning with another cutter, this one at 92.6 mph. But, then, Olson saw his the first splitter Ohtani had thrown him on the night, and sent it 355 feet for his 18th home run.

“His stuff’s incredible,” Olson said. “His splitter is one of the better splitters I’ve seen. Not a lot of guys are throwing true tumbling splitters the way he throws it. … A lot of guys throw a splitter and it’s a little more changeupy. He’s got a true splitter, obviously he’s got a 90s fastball with good ride. It’s a good up and down.”

He’s how good Ohtani’s splitter has been. He’s generated a 63.6 percent strikeout rate on the pitch, the best in baseball, with a .123 average against. He’d allowed just two home runs on the pitch since 2018.

Until Olson changed all that with a seventh-inning swing, his fifth home run in seven games coming with a ridiculous 42 degree launch angle. For a frame of reference, he’s averaged a 15.4 percent launch angle (a carer low) on the season.

“He’s seen him more than anybody,” said manager Brian Snitker said. “During our hitters’ meeting, he had good advice for the guys. Which, (Ohtani’s) stuff’s so good … but you’re right, (Olson) keeps doing it.”

Olson, who leads the majors with 34 doubles, is on pace to break the franchise record. He’s also trending toward 88 extra-base hits, a total that would be the second-highest single by any Brave behind only Hank Aaron’s 92 in 1959, and ahead of Chipper Jones’ 87 in 1999 and Eddie Mathews’ 86 in 1953. That was the year of Jones’ NL MVP, while Mathews was second in the voting in ‘53 and Aaron came in third in ‘59.

None of that is to say that Olson, whose 1.8 fWAR is 12th among first basemen and is 12th in wRC+ with the 15th best odds at the MVP (+1000) per BetMGM. But the 28-year-old, in the first year of a now eight-year, $168 million deal, is still putting together a solid debut year that’s come with the hoopla of following Freddie Freeman.

Olson’s proven a workhorse, joining Dansby Swanson as the only players to appear in all 95 games and has the most plate appearances of any player (415) and seen the most pitches (1,712).

He’s on pace to play in at least 156 games for the third time in the last four 162-game seasons, appearing in only 127 in 2019 because of a hamate injury that required surgery. He also played in every game of the 60-game pandemic-shortened season of 2020.

“I never want to go out,” Olson said. “I don’t like doing it. I’ve had them before and it just feels weird sitting and watching. We get to go out and play and I want to do it as many times as possible.

“I don’t want any days off. If it’s over not doing well then next game can be next game to help get you right. Going out there you always feel like you can help the team win. Even if you’re not swinging it well, you can go play good defense or have a good at-bat and sac fly, move a guy over or something like that. I don’t want to miss out on it.”

On the topic of that defense, the metrics haven’t necessarily matched the Gold Glove resume Olson built over his six years in Oakland, where he won two Gold Gloves and had had the best dWAR since 2017 at the position, while also totaling the most defensive runs saved and outs above average.

For the first time in a 162-game season, Olson is in the negative in dWAR (minus-0.4), OAA (minus-1) and ultimate zone rating (minus-0.9) with zero DRS.

Some of that has to do with the change of scenery, where he’s gone from Oakland Coliseum, which has the most foul territory in the majors at 40,700 feet — more than 10,000 more feet than any other ballpark — to Truist Park and its 22,100 feet of foul territory.

“Every place is different in terms of the optics, the way the ball comes off the bat, the way you see it behind home,” he said. “Having less foul ground is easy. It’s just in the stands. I’m used to going to some balls that are 10 rows deep here. That was a big adjustment.”

The entire first half could be deemed as such.

Getting out of the gate with a scoring April in which he produced 142 wRC+ and following it by hitting 34 percent above league average, Olson trailed off in June (109 wRC+), but he’s back on track and riding a season-high seven-game hit streak, his best of the season. During that run he’s hit .310/.333/.862 and it’s the first seven-game run in his career he’s had 13 RBI in a seven-game stretch.

Throughout his six previous seasons, Olson has been at his best in the second half, averaging 137 wRC+ compared to 101 in the first.

But Olson ended the first half with momentum, and after the layoff it was more of the same. Olson turned the tables on a dominant night from Ohtani and did it against his most dominant pitch.

“(Olson) keeps doing it,” Snitker said.