Michael Harris II once watched October baseball from the seats at Truist Park. On Sunday in Los Angeles, the Atlanta center fielder helped put the Braves back on even footing in the National League Division Series.
Harris went 3-for-5 in Atlanta’s 3-2 Game 2 win over the Dodgers, supplying a triple, a double, a single and two runs that mattered in a tight postseason night. The victory squared the best-of-five series ahead of Game 3 on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET at Truist Park.
Harris carries Atlanta’s offense
- Harris opened his afternoon with a single, then came up in the fifth against Dodgers reliever Kris Bubic with the score tight.
- Bubic threw an 86 mph sweeper off the plate, a chase pitch that Harris reached with the end of his bat. The ball was sliced toward left field, where Teoscar Hernández mishandled it, allowing Harris to race all the way to third.
- Harris scored the go-ahead run after the triple, giving Atlanta the edge it needed.
- In the seventh, he drove a double for an RBI and an important insurance run in a one-run game.
- He came to the plate in the ninth needing a home run for the postseason cycle, but did not alter his approach trying to chase history.
“I knew I didn’t fully get it,” Harris said of the triple. “I knew I was slicing away from them. As I got closer to first, I was kind of blocked by his body, so I didn’t know if he caught it. Then I saw it bounce off the wall, and I just had to keep digging to third.”
The ball carried an expected batting average of .016, but Harris turned an imperfect swing into one of the game’s defining plays. Bubic said the location was where the Dodgers wanted it, yet Harris’ ability to cover pitches beyond the strike zone changed the result.
“He’s a guy that can make a lot of contact outside the zone,” Bubic said. “That was the chase pitch we wanted. He can get to pitches that other hitters can’t, and he did. He got enough of it to slice it down the line and find a spot where it could roll around long enough for him to get to third.”
A rare October double and triple
Harris became the fifth player in Braves history to record both a double and triple in the same postseason game. The others are Ronald Acuña Jr. in Game 4 of the 2019 NLDS, Mark DeRosa in Game 2 of the 2002 NLDS, Mark Lemke in Game 4 of the 1991 World Series and Hank Gowdy in Game 1 of the 1914 World Series.
He also had a chance to become only the second player to hit for the cycle in MLB postseason history. Brock Holt remains the lone man to do it, accomplishing the feat for Boston in the 2018 ALDS.
Harris knew what was at stake when he batted in the ninth, but the scoreboard came first.
“I was aware, but I wasn’t necessarily going for it,” he said. “It was a close game, and we still needed runs and just needed to find a way to get on base. I knew about it, but I wasn’t trying to hit a home run.”
A hometown fan now in the middle of it
The performance carried extra weight for Harris, who grew up in the Atlanta area and attended games during the Braves’ 2021 run to the World Series title. Five years ago, he was in the stands cheering for a club that included Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies. Now he is one of the players setting the October tone.
“It means a lot,” Harris said. “I was there in 2021 watching. Riley and Ozzie were about the only ones still on the team. I remember watching Riley hit the walk-off and chanting ‘MVP’ for him. Now we’re here in the playoffs trying to do the same thing.
“To wear that jersey in front of the city where I grew up, after once sitting in those seats, feels good.”
Atlanta needed somebody to take over on Sunday. Its first four hitters — Drake Baldwin, Acuña, Matt Olson and Albies — combined to go 2-for-15, though they also drew five walks. Harris supplied the extra-base damage while the top of the order had a quieter night.
Manager Walt Weiss said that is often how postseason games unfold.
“Michael had a great game,” Weiss said. “In the postseason, you never know what’s going to happen. There’s no blueprint or playbook. There always seem to be unsung heroes.
“Michael has been a good player all year. He’s had a helluva year for us. Our top half is really good and dangerous, but if those guys have a quiet night, it’s usually going to be somebody else. Tonight, it was Michael Harris.”
Another October marker after a strong season
Harris arrived in the postseason after his best regular season since winning the 2022 National League Rookie of the Year Award. He hit .294/.321/.491 with an .812 OPS, setting career bests with 174 hits, 26 home runs, 87 RBIs and 36 doubles.
- Fifth in the National League in hits
- Tied for fourth in doubles
- Sixth in batting average
- A candidate to receive down-ballot NL MVP consideration
He had already delivered one October blow in Atlanta’s Wild Card Series clincher against Philadelphia, launching a three-run homer in the first inning of Thursday’s Game 3. The Braves won that one, 6-2, and Harris followed it with another signature day against the Dodgers.
The series now moves to Atlanta with Harris carrying the kind of October confidence that can change a clubhouse. He may have missed the cycle, but the Braves left Los Angeles with what they wanted most: a split and a chance to take control at home.
