Braves takeaways: Eli White's unforgettable homer, Alex Verdugo's impact and more

ATLANTA Eli White was an avid Atlanta Braves fan growing up in Greenville, S.C., which made the biggest moment of the journeyman outfielders career all the more exhilarating Wednesday.

White hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning Wednesday to lift Atlanta to a 4-1 win that clinched the series against the St.

Louis Cardinals and completed a comeback-filled 5-1 homestand for a Braves team that was 5-13 when it began.

Advertisement Thirty minutes later, White was still in his uniform, adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream.

Thats why I havent showered yet, I cant stop sweating, White said, laughing.

Yeah, that was an amazing feeling.

Just to be able to come through for the team there and help win a series was big.

Just super excited that I was able to contribute there.

With two runners on and one out in a tied game, White hit a 1-1 slider from right-hander Ryan Fernandez, who had just entered.

It was Whites fifth hit and first homer in 24 plate appearances this season, and there was no doubt it was leaving the yard.

It was 107 mph off his bat and sailed 434 feet to the left-field seats.

That was a bomb that he hit, Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Im happy for us and Eli that he got to experience that.

When White went back to his position in left field the next inning, fans in the left-field bleachers gave White a standing ovation.

Had he ever experienced anything even remotely as thrilling in his baseball career? White, who is 30 and played college ball at Clemson, thought for a moment and smiled.

I know I hit a game-tying homer in Double A one time, a three-run homer, he said, but nothing that big of a deal.

So that was special for sure, and something Ill always remember.

So will teammates whove said they respect everything about White and how he goes about his business.

You cant ask for a better guy to be there in that situation, said Braves pitcher Bryce Elder, who settled down after an erratic first inning and limited the Cardinals to one run over six innings.

I mean, (White) just gets after it every day.

And for him to go out and do that in that situation is pretty special.

It was the sixth start of the season for speedy and versatile White, and his first start since the Braves added veteran outfielder Alex Verdugo at the beginning of the homestand.

White had 10 homers in 471 career plate appearances over parts of six seasons with the Texas Rangers and Braves before he stepped to the plate in the eighth inning.

Advertisement The guy does everything right, Snitker said.

He cares, works hard, understands his role.

He provides a lot for us, honestly.

Alex Verdugos impact Verdugo, cited as a catalyst in the Braves offensive improvement on the homestand, had a day off Sunday because Snitker wanted to make sure not to overwork him after he missed all but the final days of spring training waiting to sign with a team as a free agent.

The Braves are 4-1 with Verdugo in left field, and hes hit .273 with three doubles in 22 at-bats from the leadoff spot, making consistently hard contact and working most counts to help assure teammates see plenty of pitches from the opponent while hes at the plate.

Michael Harris II, who moved back to leadoff Wednesday for a day, had three hits, including a game-tying seventh-inning single.

Harris was 9-for-23 with a homer and five RBIs on the six-game homestand, and said Verdugo has been a big help to him as a fellow lefty hitter batting atop the order and sharing in-game tips with Harris on opposing pitchers and what theyre doing against lefty batters.

The Braves mustered nothing offensively for six innings Wednesday against Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, then scratched out a tying run in the seventh on a Nick Allen double and Harris single.

That set the stage for another big eighth inning from the Braves, who scored 13 of their 31 runs on the homestand in three eighth innings.

After starting the eighth with singles from Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies against reliever JoJo Romero, both moved up a base on Sean Murphys nubbed groundout on the first-base line.

The Cardinals then brought in Fernandez.

White thought Snitker might pinch hit with the left-handed-hitting Verdugo.

Well, I was pinch-hitting (Verdugo) next, Snitker said.

Because I knew.

I said (to Verdugo) Theyre going to walk you anyway, so Ive got to pick the two guys that I want to hit.

Because theyre not going to pitch to (Verdugo) there.

Advertisement Pinch hitting after White hit turned out to be unnecessary.

White took care of things with his big home run.

Braves, Sean Murphy rediscover power After hitting just six home runs in their first nine games through April 5, including seven losses, the Braves have a majors-leading 26 home runs in their past 15 games, including nine wins.

After failing to hit a home run in five of seven games March 29 through April 5, the Braves have hit at least one homer in 14 of their past 15 including three two-homer games, three three-homer games and a four-homer game.

The power resurgence began April 8, after a two-day break for the Braves that resulted from an April 6 postponement due to rain, and a scheduled day off April 7.

The sharp increase in homers coincided with veteran catcher Murphys return from the injured list after missing the first nine games recovering from a cracked rib.

Six of Murphys nine hits have been homers in 12 starts 11 at catcher, one at DH since returning from the IL, accounting for his .928 OPS despite a .205 batting average.

Rookie catcher Drake Baldwin had two homers and four RBIs during the homestand, including a single and a walk in three plate appearances Wednesday before giving way to pinch hitter Murphy in the eighth inning.

Since Murphys return, he and Baldwin had a combined eight homers and a 1.005 OPS in 14 games before Wednesday, including their starts at catcher and DH.

Marcell Ozuna keeps walking Marcell Ozuna had a career-high four walks Tuesday and added another walk Wednesday to raise his majors-leading total to 24 in 21 games, the second-most walks by a Braves player through as many games since at least 1900.

(Next-most in the majors was the Giants Matt Chapman with 22 walks in 24 games before Wednesdays late game.) Ozuna set career-highs last season in walks (74) and plate appearances (688) while playing all 162 games.

But he also had a career-high 170 strikeouts, which he said was the impetus for a change in his plate discipline.

Advertisement Im just trying to get a good pitch to hit, he said.

Dont chase (out of the strike zone) like I used to.

In the past, Ive been chasing too much and getting too many strikeouts.

Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews is the only Braves player with more walks (27 in 1955) through his first 21 games in a season.

Ozuna tied Kelly Johnson (2007) for most walks by a Brave before May 1, and Atlanta has six more games before May 1 three at Arizona starting Friday, followed by three at Colorado.

Ozunas 15.9 percent increase in walk rate since last season is easily the highest year-over-year increase among MLB qualifiers, and Ozunas 26.7 rate before Wednesday was far and away the majors best, with Chapman (21.4) the only other qualifier as high as 20 percent.

Ozuna had a career-best 14.2 percent walk rate in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and has never had a walk rate higher than 11.3 percent in a full season.

(Top photo of Eli White: Dale Zanine / Imagn Images).

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