Atlanta Braves outfielder Michael Harris II had an inning to remember on Wednesday, where he tortured the New York Mets to help lead the team to a win.
Last year, Michael Harris II won the NL Rookie of the Year award and earned himself a long-term contract extension from the Atlanta Braves. But so far in his second season, Harris had been going through a sophomore slump. Entering the game, he carried a .163 batting average, a .246 on-base percentage, and a .244 slugging percentage through 38 games played. While the numbers haven't been good, let's not forget that he missed time due to injury, and it's still early on in the season.
On Wednesday night, Harris stepped up to take down their hated rivals in the New York Mets.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Marcell Ozuna on second after a double, Harris crushed a home run to dead center field on a pitch thrown by Adam Ottavino to allow the Braves to break a tie and take the 7-5 lead.
This was Harris' third home run of the season.
Michael Harris shines in eighth, helps Braves get 7-5 win over Mets
Yeah, Harris hit a home run in the bottom of the eighth, but let's take a look at what he did in the top of the inning.
Mets outfielder Mark Canha would take a 0-1 pitch thrown by Nick Anderson to center field. With Harris running to his left, it looked like Canha was destined for an extra-base hit. However, Harris leaped in the air and was able to extend his right arm to catch the fly ball with his glove to end the inning.
The Braves closed things out in the top of the ninth after A.J. Minter forced Francisco Alvarez to ground out, Brandon Nimmo to strike out, and Jeff McNeil to fly out. With that, the Braves were able to overcome a 4-1 deficit against the Mets for the second day in a row.
It was a solid eighth inning for Harris. Again, there is plenty of season left for Harris to increase his statistics. For now, Braves fans hope he can build off of this game.
