The best advice I could’ve given any particular Atlanta Braves fan about the 2026 team in general is that on most nights, you might want to wait until the seventh inning to tune in. That was usually when this offense started to work its magic, and the proof is in the pudding with this particular list.
According to Win Probability Added, here’s a look at what ended up being the 10 biggest hits that swung the game in Atlanta’s favor. Fortunately, only one of these hits came in a losing effort but at the same
time, three of these hits came in the same game. I’d imagine that you probably know which game that is, so get ready to relive that night and some other fun moments as well with this particular list.
T-No. 9 – June 7 vs. Pirates, Michael Harris II, RBI Double, Bottom of the 7th, down 2-0, 0.41 WPA
What a day at the office this was for Money Mike, eh? He started the game on the bench due to some lingering back issues that had been bothering him but he did indicate that he could contribute as a pinch-hitter if it came down to it. Walt Weiss trusted him and called upon his star center fielder with the Braves having the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning while down two.
Sure enough, Harris delivered and punched one into right field for a huge, bases-clearing double that wound up being the difference in a series-sweeping win for the Braves. Walt Weiss was pushing all of the right buttons, the Braves were coming up huge in late, high-leverage situations and it was all good for Atlanta. Things got much worse for the Braves during the month of June but at least things got started on the right track!
T-No. 9 – July 6 vs. Mets, Matt Olson, Two-Run Home Run, Bottom of the 9th, down 5-3, 0.41 WPA
What a night this was for Matt Olson, huh? Atlanta’s star first baseman hit two dingers against the Mets in this one, and his second homer in particular ended up being a huge one as he went opposite field to New York’s bullpen for a two-run shot that breathed life into Atlanta and the crowd at Truist Park in the ninth inning. While the Braves ended up dropping this one in extras, the game doesn’t get that far without Olson coming through with a massive shot against their rivals from the Big Apple in order to keep the game open. As you’ll see while this list continues on, there’s more where that came from — from both the Braves and Matt Olson when it came to late-inning heroics.
No. 8 – September 11 vs. Phillies, Ha-Seong Kim, Single, Bottom of the 11th, down 5-4, 0.42 WPA
Based off of the season that Ha-Seong Kim had had up to that point, who would’ve thought that he’d end up being a hero in what wound up being probably the most important win of the season series against the Phillies? Kim did have a pinch-hit, walk-off hit in a series-clinching win over the Dodgers back in August (I am not lying and you are not misremembering) but it was still pretty remarkable that he came through in this moment as well. This was a truly dreadful season for Kim but it didn’t come without its magical moments and this one was the biggest one of them all, by a massive long shot.
No. 7 – September 11 vs. Phillies, Drake Baldwin, Walk-Off Double, Bottom of the 11th, tied 5-5, 0.43 WPA
It really felt like the Phillies gave it everything they had in this game, knowing what the stakes were if they failed to win the series (and honestly, anything outside of a sweep probably wouldn’t have been enough for Philadelphia after what the Braves did to them in their own ballpark the previous week). Philadelphia threw some haymakers but the Braves stayed on their feet and countered with some big haymakers of their own, with this one from Drake Baldwin being the knockout shot that clinched a huge series-opening win for Atlanta over their divisional foes.
No. 6 – September 11 vs. Phillies, Sean Murphy, Single, Bottom of the 9th, down 3-2, 0.49 WPA
What. A. Night.
You know a game was absolutely insane when three of the biggest hits of the season came in one single game. Indeed, that was the case here as Sean Murphy’s game-tying knock essentially set the stage for the two hits that came after it. It also helped that the Phillies’ organizational lack of focus on defense helped to cost them on this one, as Derek Hill booting the ball helped give DaShawn Keirsey Jr. enough time to motor from first-to-home in order to tie it up. Brandon Gaudin was right when he dubbed this the Game of the Year for the Braves and this hit helped keep the Braves alive in the ninth inning.
No. 5 – September 19 at Astros, Ronald Acuña Jr., Grand Slam, Top of the 7th, down 2-1, 0.54 WPA
Ronald Acuña Jr. had a couple of short runs this season where it sure seemed like the MVP-caliber player that we’d been used to seeing over the years (when healthy) was finally starting to make his return for good. He was in the midst of one of those runs during September and this (according to WPA) was the peak of the run for Acuña. With the divisional title in sight and the bases loaded at this point in the night, Acuña got a heater that he liked and bounced it off the column above the yellow line in left field for a massive grand slam that gave the Braves yet another game-changing bit hit in the late innings of a contest.
This was part of a three-game sweep in Houston that helped push the Braves over the finish line for clinching the NL East, as the Braves kept up the momentum at the plate that Acuña gave them with one mighty swing of the bat on this particular night.
No. 4 – August 29 vs. Rockies, Michael Harris II, RBI Double, Bottom of the 8th, down 1-0, 0.55 WPA
This was one that seemingly came out of nowhere — despite the fact that the Braves were dealing with another bad Rockies team. Despite Colorado losing their starting pitcher to a late scratch, the Rockies held Atlanta’s offense at bay for most of the contest. That was until the eighth inning rolled around, which is when some of that late-inning Truist Park magic started to kick in for the Braves once again.
This time, it was Money Mike who delivered the major blow, as his liner to center went off of Cole Carigg’s glove (and his response set off a minor controversy in RockiesWorld) and gave Mauricio Dubón enough time to go first-to-home to score what ended up being the winning run. For the Rockies, it was another rough moment on the road in a game where they fought hard against a Postseason contender. For the Braves, it was yet another magically weird moment in a season that was full of them.
No. 3 – April 14 vs. Marlins, Dominic Smith, RBI Double, Bottom of the 8th, down 5-3, 0.63 WPA
You knew there’d be a Big Dominic Smith Moment on this list eventually. While he did end up slowing down a lot as the season progressed, that first month of the season really had everybody believing that this could’ve been a really big year for Dominic Smith. While that didn’t end up being the case, his contributions to the team were still very important and his early-season success played a huge role in the overall strong start that the team had in April. This was Dominic Smith’s magnum opus in that regard.
No. 2 – April 29 vs. Tigers, Matt Olson, Walk-Off Two-Run Home Run, Bottom of the 9th, down 3-2, 0.67 WPA
The month of April was jam-packed full of fun moments as the Braves went on a tear right out of the gate that helped set the foundation for what ended up being a successful season. At this point, the Braves were really flying high as this walk-off shot from Matt Olson transformed a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory at the expense of old friend Kenley Jansen. This also capped off a sweep for the Braves — strangely enough, this was the first one that they had picked up despite having improved to 22-9 at that point. Either way, the Braves were rolling and this was a huge moment during that early-season run.
No. 1 – June 20 vs. Brewers, Ozzie Albies, Walk-Off Two-Run Home Run, Bottom of the 9th, down 3-2, 0.79 WPA
This moment in particular felt so crazy (in a positive way) because the Braves at this point were still very much in the midst of their June swoon while facing a Brewers team that we now know was destined for the World Series. Atlanta somehow managed to defeat the Brewers in the series opener on that Friday night and then Ozzie Albies capped off his best performance of the season with this walk-off, opposite-field, go-ahead dinger that gave the Braves a very improbable series win over Milwaukee at the time. It was a huge moment that helped keep Atlanta’s pursuit of the NL East title afloat and it was enough to end up being the biggest hit of the season according to WPA.
BONUS: The “My Bad, Bro” Award: August 23 at Brewers, Ozzie Albies, Single, Top of the 5th, up 2-1, -0.05 WPA
This has Ozzie’s name next to it but he was not the culprit here. Instead, it was Ronald Acuña Jr. who was at fault, as he made a pretty poor decision to go for home Ozzie’s single and then compounded it by deciding to try to turn back to third place. You can’t be of two minds against a team as talented as the Milwaukee Brewers and Acuña paid the price with this one. Acuña certainly had his fair share of weird moments both int he field and on the basepaths and this was chief among them. This play ended up being the single-worst moment of the season while the Braves were on offense, according to WPA — not bad, all things considered!
