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Newest Brave Has Career Night in Atlanta’s Tight Win

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jeremy Lockett | Last updated Apr 20, 2025 10:00 AM ET

When the Braves traded for Alex Verdugo this offseason, they hoped to add depth, balance, and contact to a lineup built on power. On Saturday night at Truist Park, Verdugo delivered all of that—and then some.

The 28-year-old outfielder turned in one of the best performances of his career, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a go-ahead RBI single that ultimately proved to be the difference in Atlanta’s 4-3 win over the Minnesota Twins.

With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Verdugo stepped in against reliever Jorge Alcala and lined a sharp single to right, scoring Matt Olson and giving the Braves a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. It marked Verdugo’s sixth career game with four or more hits, and his first since May 26, 2022, when he was still with the Boston Red Sox. He had gone 272 major league games without a four-hit outing until Saturday night.

More than just padding the box score, Verdugo’s contributions were crucial to breaking a frustrating trend for Atlanta. The Braves entered the game having failed to string together consecutive wins all season. His spark at the top of the order helped ignite the offense, as the Braves outhit the Twins 12-7 and finally broke through in a game where every run mattered.

4️⃣ hits on the night for Alex Verdugo!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/TjoVj4gaKu
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 20, 2025

During Spring Training the Braves signed former Yankee Alex Verdugo to add some depth to that right field spot in case their solution of Jurickson Profar to replace Ronald Acuña Jr. in right field while he recovered fell through. After that solution was suspended for 80 games for using prohibited substances Braves fans simply had to sit and watch as their team fell to pieces accumulating loss after loss.

Sean Murphy and Austin Riley have been carrying the brunt of the weight for the Braves’ offense. But home runs mean nothing if you’re also leaving athletes stranded in scoring position on base at the end of every inning.

Thirteen losses is what it took for the Braves to call up Dugie to the starting roster.

On April 17 Atlanta announced that they were going to call up Verdugo and optioned Bryan De La Cruz to Triple-A.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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