Michael Harris II (above) of the Atlanta Braves makes a catch during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres at Truist Park on May 24, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
It has been an up-and-down season for Atlanta Braves centerfielder Michael Harris II, but at the same time, his defense and RBI production are as good as ever.
Harris’s batting average, currently .239, fluctuated during March, but his RBI production held steady. He will enter the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which begins on Tuesday, June 3, tied for the team lead in RBIs (33) with Austin Riley.
Michael Harris II (above) of the Atlanta Braves poses for a photo during Spring Training at CoolToday Park on February 21, 2023, in Venice, Florida. Photo by Octavio Jones/Atlanta Braves
Coming into Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, Harris hit safely in 9 out of his last 10 games, including going 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored in a 5-0 win over the Red Sox on Saturday, May 31.
On Sunday, Harris led off the third inning with a pop-fly to center field. In his second at-bat of the game, which came with with two runners on and two outs in the fourth inning with Atlanta trailing 3-1, Harris struck out.
Defensively, Harris has been playing a near-perfect centerfielder. In between the top and bottom of the second inning of Sunday’s game, the Diamond Gems segment, Harris’s catches dominated the two-minute long video. There were several catches that helped Atlanta managed at least one victory during their three-game series in Philadelphia last week. Atlanta has not won a series since they took two of three games in Boston in mid-May.
A father and his children make their way into the Braves/Phillies game on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
Braves first baseman Matt Olson (.238, 31 RBI, six home runs) had an opportunity to tie or pass Harris in RBIs with two runners on in the fifth inning, but grounded out to second base instead.
In his third and final at-bats of the game on Sunday, which came with no runners on to start the seventh inning and one runner on in the ninth, Harris struck out during both at-bats. The strikeouts were his 44th and 45th of the season.
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The Braves will host the Arizona Diamondbacks, beginning on Tuesday, June 3. Atlanta took two of three games in Arizona on April 25 and 26.
In those two victories, the Braves scored a combined 16 runs. It remains the only time this season that the Braves have scored eight runs in consecutive games.
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