Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson on Thursday hit his 40th home run of the 2023 season and in doing so tied Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani for the major-league lead.
Olson's blast came in the third inning of his team's game against the Pirates (ATL-PIT GameTracker). Here's a look:
That blast left the bat at 107.3 mph and traveled 427 feet just to the right of dead center, and it came at the expense of a Bailey Falter slider. For Olson, home run No. 40 marks a career high, and with almost 50 games left on Atlanta's regular-season schedule there's plenty of time for Olson to get to 50 homers and perhaps beyond.
The 29-year-old Olson entered Thursday's game with a career-high OPS+ of 155, and he's nudged that figure up a bit higher with his outputs against the Pirates. He's also been trending upward of late, as Olson entered this game with a second-half slash line of .317/.446/.734. Teammate Ronald Acuña is the likely frontrunner in the NL MVP race, but Olson is positioning himself for a strong finish in the balloting. More to the point, Olson's Braves have the best record in all of baseball, thanks in no small part to the power production of their first baseman.
