Braves look to continue dominance of Rockies

The offensive resurgence of Michael Harris II is coming at an ideal time for the Atlanta Braves.

Harris has homered in back-to-back games and will try to keep it going when the Braves host Colorado in the second contest of their three-game series on Saturday. Atlanta won the opener 12-4, with Harris hitting a game-tying three-run homer to fuel the comeback.

The Braves lead the series 3-1 and are 19-5 against the Rockies dating back to the start of the 2022 season. Colorado has lost six of its last seven.

Over the last seven games, Harris is 8-for-28 (.286) with three home runs and seven RBIs. He has gone deep in three of his last six games after going 42 games without a homer. He has hit safely in seven of the last eight games and lifted his batting average from .227 to .238 and is second on the team with 41 RBIs.

“I want my average to be up a good amount, but I feel like I’ve been able to get some key RBIs throughout the season,” Harris said. “I guess when I come up in those situations, I’ve really got to settle in and really know the team needs runs to win games.”

The starting pitchers for the second game are Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (0-5, 5.40 ERA) against Colorado’s Chase Dollander (2-6, 6.85).

Strider is coming off a six-inning stint, his longest appearance of the season, in a loss at San Francisco. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, on three hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Strider was sidelined when the Braves visited Colorado in April. He is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies, striking out 21 in 12 total innings.

Dollander, a native of Evans, Ga., a suburb of Augusta, will make the 11th start of his rookie season. He was roughed up for five runs on eight hits — two of them homers — in three innings in his last start on Sunday against the New York Mets.

Dollander has pitched six innings only once this season and has gone only three in the last two outings, as the Rockies are being cautious after he spent time on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness.

“He’s developing nicely,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I can’t say enough about Chase Dollander, the way he takes care of himself, his thought process, the way he talks about the game after it happens, and sees where he went wrong and what went right.”

Dollander beat the Braves on April 30 — his last victory — when he gave up one run on two hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Colorado’s Hunter Goodman and Ryan McMahon continued their hot hitting in the series opener. Goodman went 2-for-5 on Friday and is batting .357 (10-for-28) over the last seven games. He leads all National League catchers with 73 hits and 11 home runs.

McMahon was 3-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBIs. Over the last seven games, he’s batting .455 (10-for-22) with two doubles, three homers and five RBIs.

–Field Level Media