Five observations:
1. There were 2,241 days between July 8, 2018 – Merrifield's last five-hit game – and Monday. Between those two appearances, Merrifield played for four different teams, including the Braves, and was named an All-Star three times.
“I know I can do it,” Merrifield said of his performance. “You can't hit five every night, but when the stars align, you can take advantage of the opportunity. That's kind of what happened tonight.”
About a month ago, Merrifield was home after the Phillies designated him for assignment. His confidence was at rock bottom. He was enjoying being a father. He had come to terms with that.
A door opened.
Ozzie Albies broke his wrist. The Braves needed an infielder. They signed Merrifield and gave him playing time every day.
He has blossomed.
“When you come back and play every day and get that feeling of how it was back then, and when certain things go right and some balls get in holes, you start to remember the good things that come with success,” Merrifield said.
On Monday, he hit a single in the first inning, a double in the second, a single in the third, a single in the sixth and a single in the eighth. He was inches away from a second double, but was thrown out trying to extend his sixth-inning single.
Merrifield has a .333 batting average and .877 OPS in his first 26 games with the Braves.
“He's just a professional,” Matt Olson said. “Nobody's shocked (about his five-hit game). He could go out there and do that anytime. He works the counts, he throws (balls through) the holes, he drives balls into gaps, he can run the bases and play good defense. It's not often that you just find guys that you pick up and use. We were lucky that he was out there when something happened to Ozzie, and he's fit perfectly in the locker room and on the field for us.”
2. After the storm passed and the tarp was removed from the field, Max Fried jogged into the outfield. The section of Braves fans behind the third base dugout cheered as they saw No. 54 heading toward the visitors' bullpen.
Fried began warming up, and although the break lasted nearly an hour and a half, he returned to pitching after throwing just one inning and 15 pitches before the break.
“I threw it at him,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “(I said, 'Whatever you want.' And he said, 'I want to go. I don't care how long we wait.'”
During the delay, Fried played catch twice, throwing 10 to 15 balls each time. He knew that if the delay lasted an hour or so, he could get out.
Fried played four more innings in place of the bullpen. In total, he allowed three runs in five innings – only one of which was earned.
His performance was important because the Braves don't have another day off after this seven-game road trip until next Monday. Fried helped protect a bullpen the Braves will need for the rest of this trip. Atlanta plays two opponents, including the Phillies, on its two-city trip and will likely need its best players to cover key innings during this stretch.
“I've had an appearance before where I played two-thirds of an inning and only went one inning (earlier in the season),” Fried said. “The last thing I wanted was to have a similar appearance, knowing that when we play tonight, the guys are going to have to cover eight more. So it was really important for me to go out there and just eat as much as I could.”
After leaving the field, Grant Holmes pitched two innings, then Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee each threw one inning.
Fried has put Atlanta's bullpen in good position for the rest of the week.
“I think that's huge because we would have pretty much dumped into the bullpen and gotten six more games,” Snitker said. “That would have taxed the bullpen for a while and it would have been hard to catch up, so those were big games.”
3. Entering the first inning, the Braves led 4-0 after four batters. They only needed 14 men to the plate to take a 9-1 lead.
This was probably the most entertaining offensive performance by the Braves this season because they scored so early. The game was over after an inning and a half. It was like an avalanche.
In the bottom of the second inning, Olson had a three-run home run (first inning) and a two-run double (second inning), Marcell Ozuna had two run-scoring singles (one in the first, the other in the second), and Travis d'Arnaud had a two-run home run (second inning).
The Braves left Bailey Ober stunned. He had made 11 straight good starts coming into this game.
The Braves destroyed it.
Ober had arguably his worst start of the season, rivaling his first start of the season, where he allowed eight earned runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Needless to say, he did not return to the field after the delay.
4. The key to victory for the Braves: a home run from Olson.
When he hits a home run, Atlanta is 17-4. Ten of his 23 home runs this season have come in the last 29 games since July 27.
“Yeah, it's good,” Olson said of the results. “I got a couple of pitches I couldn't get before, so I'll take it.”
Another great sign: On Monday, he hit balls at 110.3 mph (double), 107.3 mph (lineout), 105.9 mph (double) and 102.6 mph (home run). He was responsible for the hardest hit ball in the game and three of the top four.
“It's really nice to see,” Snitker said. “Hopefully that's something that motivates him. That was great.”
Of course, if the Braves want to achieve their ultimate goal for the season, they need Olson as their hitter.
5. Since the Braves lost Austin Riley, their pitching has carried them while the offense has adjusted to life without another of their stars. On Monday, however, Fried entered the game with a four-run lead. His lineup was successful early on.
But the Braves' rotation is probably the main reason this team has a 6-2 record in eight games since Riley's departure (including the game in which he left early).
With Fried's appearance, Braves starting pitchers have not allowed more than three runs in the club's last 15 games since Aug. 11 at Colorado. That's the longest active such streak and the longest such streak by Braves starters since a 16-game streak in 2018.
“Well, I mean, it's always nice to have a pad like that,” Snitker said. “I think the most important thing is that Max wanted to keep going. He was like, 'I feel too good.'”
Things to know
10 – Merrifield is the 10th player since the start of the 2011 season to go 5-of-5 in a regular season game while age 35 or older. The others, in no order: Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Paul Konerko, Hideki Matsui, Nick Markakis, Derrek Lee, AJ Pierzynski and Jerry Hairston.
Quote
“I know I'm 35, but physically I'm really faster and stronger than I was when I was 28. The age thing is just a lazy way of putting the blame on things that didn't go right. My swing is slowly getting to where I like it. When you play every day, you can focus on hitting good shots and not worry so much about the results, and the results seem to come. You're just in good shape and you try to stick it out as long as you can.” – Merrifield
Next
On Tuesday, right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach will pitch against right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson of the Twins. First pitch is at 7:40 p.m.
