Matt Olson has two of Braves’ four homers in skid-busting win.

DENVER — This year’s Atlanta Braves haven’t been able to match the powerful pace that allowed their 2023 lineup to hit 307 home runs and match the 2019 Minnesota Twins’ single-season MLB record.

Throwing the clock back, at least for one night, helped the Braves break out of a funk.

Matt Olson had two homers and a career-high six RBIs, Marcell Ozuna and Jorge Soler also went deep, and the Braves broke a six-game losing streak with an 11-8 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.

After the Braves tied the game at eight in the seventh with a two-run home run off Angel Chivilli (0-1) in the eighth, Soler added a single home run to help the team escape what would have been their longest losing streak in almost eight years (they lost seven games in a row from August 13–20, 2016).After the Braves tied the game at eight in the seventh with a two-run home run off Angel Chivilli (0-1) in the eighth, Soler added a single home run to help the team escape what would have been their longest losing streak in almost eight years (they lost seven games in a row from August 13–20, 2016).

After Sam Hilliard’s three-run home run against starter Max Fried put Atlanta ahead 3-0 early on, the team rallied to win, behind 8-5 in the sixth inning. Brian Snitker, manager of Atlanta, stated, “As hard as it’s been for us to put together a game, it’s huge.” “Those guys have been here long enough to know that these games never end until they do. That could have been a ‘Here we go again’ kind of thing.” Anything is possible.”

Hilliard had a homer, two doubles and a career-high five RBIs for the Rockies, who have lost 10 of their past 11 against the Braves at Coors Field.

Ozuna homered for the third straight game, and Olson had his second two-homer game in 10 contests after hitting two against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 31. Soler, picked up in a swap with the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline last month, had three hits and three RBIs and has homered in back-to-back games.

“I just wanted to pull the ball,” Olson said of his approach at the plate after Ozuna opened the seventh with a double. “Just had to try to get him to third base. Was able to kind of lift the changeup a little bit. The quality of at-bats have been better than they were earlier in the year, but there is always room to grow.”

Brenton Doyle and Brendan Rodgers had two hits for Colorado, and Ezequiel Tovar had a two-run double in a three-run sixth that tied the back-and-forth game at 8.

Former Colorado right-hander Pierce Johnson (5-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings to pick up the win for Atlanta, striking out Kris Bryant looking with the go-ahead runner on second to end the sixth. Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 24th save in 26 chances this year.

“Guys kept fighting the fight,” Snitker said. “It was a good ballgame to win.”

Olson and Hilliard were the main sources of the game’s early scoring. Olson hit a grand slam off Colorado starter Dakota Hudson to cap a five-run third for a 5-3 lead, one inning after Hilliard’s homer opened the scoring. Hudson, a former Sequatchie County High School standout from Dunlap, Tennessee, was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque for the start.

In the third inning, Hilliard tied the score at five with a double to right center that looped around three defenders and knocked in two runs. Timing was good tonight, according to Hilliard. “It feels nice to swing. All that needs to be done is put everything together and arrive on time.” After six innings, Atlanta led 8-5 thanks to a home run by Ozuna and a two-run single by Soler; however, the Rockies knotted the game with a double by Tovar and a single by Doyle.

Fried gave up seven hits and five runs (four earned) in five innings, with nine strikeouts and three walks in his second appearance after returning from the injured list. The 30-year left-hander, who became a two-time MLB All-Star this season, retired the final seven batters he faced and joined John Smoltz and Julio Teheran as the only Atlanta pitchers with 800 career strikeouts in 160 games or fewer.

“Just out of synch, out of rhythm,” Fried said, adding that the time spent on the IL “is definitely a factor, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. We’re out here to win games. I take the ball expecting to be myself and give us a chance to win. Fortunate guys really picked me up tonight.”

Atlanta outfielder Ramon Laureano (heel) was removed for a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning. He appeared to suffer the injury when he beat out an infield single in the third.

Meanwhile, outfielder Michael Harris II, on the injured list with a hamstring injury since mid-June, was 3-for-4 with a homer in a rehab game for Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday. He is expected to rejoin the Braves when eligible on Wednesday.

The three-game series concludes Sunday with Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland (3-5, 5.65 ERA) set to oppose Atlanta right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach (4-5, 4.04). Freeland, removed from his most recent outing Tuesday because of a blister on his left index finger, has made quality starts in six of eight starts since returning from the IL.