After a 6-1 start to the season, the Braves lost three straight games this weekend to fall to 6-4. They went into extra time against the Reds at Truist Park on Monday night before winning 5-4. The hero was new catcher Sean Murphy. He hit a two-run homer to center field in the bottom of the tenth:
As noted in the tweet, that was Murphy’s first home run as a Braves player. Well done for announcing his presence with authority, eh?
Murphy was one of the Braves’ big acquisitions in the off-season, as they made a three-team trade to get him off the A’s. As part of the deal, All-Star catcher William Contreras was sent to the Brewers and the Braves also parted ways with four other players. Murphy was especially a desirable catcher on the trading block because of his combination of skills behind the plate and his power at the plate. He had 37 doubles, two triples and 18 homers for Oakland last season, pushing him to a .426 slugging percentage and 121 OPS+.
Prior to Monday, Murphy had started slow on the bat, hitting .150 with a .200 slugging percentage. Thanks to the eight-walk tie, he had a .393 on-base percentage, but the average and power weren’t there yet. He may be on track now, as he went 3 for 5 with two doubles and the walk-off home run on Monday. It now cuts .240/.424/.480. See how quickly one big game can flip those small sample stats?
The Braves are now 7-4, which is good for first place in NL East.