Michael Harris II returns with grand slam as Atlanta Braves rout Giants

Atlanta won this four-game set by taking the first three games. The Braves will go for the sweep on Thursday.

Five observations:

1. Harris had not had a plate appearance since June 14, when he suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain. On Tuesday here, he talked about how excited he was to return. He said it would feel like the first day of school.

He announced his arrival with a loud crack.

Left-hander Robbie Ray threw Harris a knuckle-curve at the top of the zone, and Harris pulverized it. This was the sort of homer that drew an “Oooh” from the crowd.

It was Harris’ first career grand slam.

“It’s crazy because I think I saw somebody hit a grand slam (before the game) and I told myself that I had never hit one,” Harris said. “I went up there and did it first, first (at-bat) back. It was pretty cool.”

The ball, hit at 107 mph, soared through the air, then splashed into the water, where a man in a kayak tried to paddle over and grab it.

Harris recorded only the second “splash hit” – when a homer goes into the water here – of the season at Oracle Park. He’s the first Giants opponent to do it in 2024.

It was the fourth grand slam hit into McCovey Cove since Oracle Park opened in 2000, and the first by a visiting player.

“I guess a lot of lefties that come here are wanting to hit the ball into McCovey Cove,” Harris said. “It felt good. Too bad I couldn’t get it back. Guy didn’t want to give it back, but it’s all right. Just gotta, I guess, try to do it again.”

The score: 5-0, Braves.

Harris’ loud return was a welcomed sight – or sound – for the Braves, who have played much of the season without key members in their lineup, like Harris.

He is back – and he let everyone know it.

“I mean, some people are just born with it, and he’s one of them,” Matt Olson said.

2. The Braves entered Wednesday off of two one-run, 10-inning wins. And before that, they played three close games in Colorado – two of which were losses.

They needed a night like this.

You can never relax in this sport, but they jumped out to the lead and added. They didn’t have to sweat and bite their nails until the very end.

“No, it was great,” Snitker said. “Haven’t had that in a while. I guess we did (Sunday in Colorado) and didn’t do anything with it. No, it was good. I think the biggest thing is just to give those guys in the bullpen a day. We didn’t even have to warm anybody up that we didn’t use.”

Behind four home runs, they built, then maintained, a nice cushion. They led by nine runs after the fourth of those homers.

This had to have been a nice reprieve for them.

The lineup’s night ended with an opposing position player on the mound – which is the universal sign of a good offensive night.

“A couple tight games the last couple,” Olson said. “Good team wins, but you’d like to have a little more cushion. Getting a five-spot in the first, it’s a good way to set the tone.”

3. How’s this for a start?

Jorge Soler was plunked to begin the game. Then Ray hit Austin Riley, too. After striking out Marcell Ozuna, Ray walked Matt Olson. Then he got ahead of Orlando Arcia, 0-2, before hurling four straight balls – a walk that scored a run.

The Braves had a lead without putting a ball in play.

Baseball can be fun and weird, huh?

“It was good, because we’re a free-swinging group,” Snitker said. “You hope that somebody (makes it count) – like when Michael did that. It’s like, man, when a guy hits a couple, walks three, or whatever, you’d like to pierce one to take advantage of all that, and we did.”

Harris paid it all off by smashing the grand slam. Ray struck out Ramón Laureano after that, but he issued a walk to Sean Murphy that ended his night.

The Braves handed Ray the shortest start of his career. The lefty had pitched in 230 games (226 of them starts) before Wednesday.

He’d never gone fewer than three innings.

4. Yes, the Braves had a five-run lead. But they built it in the first inning.

There was a lot of baseball left.

Fortunately for Atlanta, Grant Holmes turned in the best outing of his major-league career to this point. He went a career-high seven innings and only allowed two runs.

It became his first career win.

“Crazy,” Holmes said. “It’s just like a dream come true – like I’ve said so many times. This journey, it’s a dream come true. I was thinking tonight, the last time I threw seven innings was in 2017. It was pretty cool to do that in the big leagues.”

Holmes ensured there wouldn’t be any funny business here.

5. After grounding out to the pitcher to end the top of the fourth inning, Soler didn’t go out to left field for the bottom of the fourth. Instead, Jarred Kelenic ran out there.

Soler felt tightness while running out of the box on the chopper to the left of the mound.

The Braves said they removed Soler as a precaution due to left hamstring tightness – which is ironically what forced Harris out of the game in June. Soler will receive an MRI on Thursday here in San Francisco after feeling the

Is he worried about landing on the injured list?

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Soler said through interpreter Franco García.

Snitker didn’t seem too concerned.

“No, it didn’t seem that bad,” he said. “I think he said he felt like he could’ve kept going, but he felt something. So I’m glad he said something.”

Soler won’t play Thursday.

Stat to know

10 - After Wednesday, the Braves have hit at least four home runs in a game 10 times this season. They are 8-2 in these games. They are 17-7 in games when they blast at least three homers.

Quotable

“It’s a special group we have here. They come to the field every day and get their work in. We expect to win. I’m glad we’re (in a winning streak of) three games again. Pitching’s been really good. And that’s what helped me tonight: Seeing those guys go out there and compete like they have the last few times, it just kind of gave me a little fire (that), I need to go out there and pitch well, and keep the bullpen out of the game as long as possible.”-Holmes on the Braves putting Sunday behind them and winning three in a row

Up next

Max Fried and Giants right-hander Logan Webb will face off in Thursday’s finale. The game begins at 3:45 p.m.