Braves fans finally got breakout performance they were waiting for in romp over Red Sox

Eric Cole

May 15, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Mike Yastrzemski (18) reacts with teammates after hitting a walk off double to drive in the winning run against the Boston Red Sox during the tenth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Through Mike Yastrzemski's first 31 games with the Atlanta Braves, there appeared to be some genuine concern that signing him was a mistake. At that point, Yastrzemski was only hitting .196 with a pathetic .522 OPS. For a guy who is making $9 million this year and $10 million next, it was an inauspicious start to say the least.

Over the next week, Yastrzemski basically held steady. There were a few hits scattered here and there, which is better than what he had been doing. However, that power from spring training was nowhere to be seen, and there was little reason to believe that it was coming.

Oh, what a difference a week makes. After playing a prominent role in the Braves' breezy win against the Red Sox on Sunday, we may have finally gotten the version of Yastrzemski Atlanta was hoping for all along.

Ya like Yaz? 🐝#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/HFdwpz0Sgu
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 17, 2026

Mike Yastrzemski finally gave the Braves the performance they needed from him this week

In short, Yastrzemski has been awesome over the last week. Before Sunday, which saw him record two hits, including a homer, Yastrzemski went 4-7 over his last four games with two doubles and a homer. After Sunday's outburst, Yastrzemski has pulled his average up to .232 and his OPS up to .643 for the season. Neither of those marks is exciting, but they are significant improvements over what he was doing when he bottomed out earlier in the season.

The Braves don't need Yaz to be a star here. They have plenty of well-rounded hitters having good seasons, and we are starting to see some others finally breaking out of their funk. What they need Yastrzemski to be is a quality left-handed bat that they can play match-ups with. That's it. After this week, it seems like something woke up within him, and he was exactly that guy, and it was great.

Will Yastrzemski be able to continue this little run? That is somewhat unclear. The results over the last few days have been terrific, but Yastrzemski's hitting metrics under the hood are still a little too troubling to completely buy into what he is doing at the moment. However, if he keeps doing this, we may have to have a discussion as to whether or not Yastrzemski's role needs to be expanded.

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.