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March 28, 2026
Ozzie Albies: The Atlanta Braves began the season with a strong Opening Day performance, defeating the Kansas City Royals in a shutout victory in Atlanta.
The game also marked a historic moment for Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies. Albies made his ninth straight Opening Day start at second base for Atlanta.
That start set a new franchise record for the most consecutive Opening Day starts at the position. He moved past former Braves infielder Glenn Hubbard, who previously held the record.
Albies has been a consistent presence in the Braves lineup for nearly a decade. His latest Opening Day appearance further cements his place in franchise history.
Before Albies began his streak, the last Braves player to start at second base on Opening Day was Brandon Phillips.
The Braves’ season-opening win, combined with Albies’ milestone, gave Atlanta an early highlight to begin the new MLB season.
Ozzie Albies continued to build his Opening Day track record with another milestone performance for the Atlanta Braves.
Albies opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning. The blast was his third career home run on Opening Day.
That achievement places him among a select group in franchise history. Albies is now one of eight Braves players to record at least three Opening Day home runs.
The list features several iconic names associated with the organization’s success. Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews leads the group with seven Opening Day home runs.
Former star Joe Torre follows with four. Notable Braves figures Andruw Jones and Fred McGriff each finished their careers with three.
Former catcher Brian McCann and outfielder Dale Murphy also reached the same total. Freddie Freeman matched that mark during his tenure in Atlanta.
Albies’ latest contribution highlights his consistency in season openers and reinforces his role as a key figure in the Braves lineup.
Ozzie Albies added to his growing list of career achievements during the Atlanta Braves season opener. Albies collected two hits in the game.
That performance pushed him ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Torre into 23rd place on the franchise’s all-time hits list. He is also closing in on another milestone tied to Torre.
Albies needs nine more games to move past Torre for 27th place in games played in Braves history.
He also matched Johnny Logan for 20th on the team’s all-time runs scored list. On the mound, Chris Sale delivered a strong debut performance for Atlanta.
The veteran left-hander threw six scoreless innings to secure the win. He struck out six hitters during the outing. Those strikeouts raised his career total to 2,585.
With that mark, Sale moved past Braves great Warren Spahn on the all-time Major League Baseball strikeout leaderboard. Sale now ranks 30th in MLB history in career strikeouts.
The performances by Albies and Sale provided an early boost for Atlanta at the start of the new season.
Chris Sale is approaching another major career milestone as the season begins for the Atlanta Braves.
The left-handed pitcher is now 23 strikeouts away from moving past Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine on Major League Baseball’s all-time strikeout list.
Reaching that mark would place Sale ahead of another former Braves star and further strengthen his place among baseball’s top strikeout pitchers.
Opening Day also marked a milestone for Braves third baseman Austin Riley. Riley made his seventh straight Opening Day start at third base for Atlanta.
That ties him with franchise legends Chipper Jones and Bob Horner for the most consecutive Opening Day starts at third base in Braves history during the Atlanta era.
The achievement highlights Riley’s consistency and long-term role as the team’s starting third baseman.
While Jones also had a longer overall Opening Day starting streak, some of those starts came when he was playing left field rather than third base.
Riley’s streak has come entirely at third base, matching the longest run at the position for the Braves since the franchise moved to Atlanta.
Austin Riley continues to build a strong Opening Day track record with the Atlanta Braves.
Former Braves star Eddie Mathews set the franchise standard with 15 consecutive Opening Day starts at third base.
Most of that run came before the team relocated to Atlanta. Only the final year of Mathews’ streak occurred in the Atlanta era.
That leaves room for Riley to establish a modern franchise benchmark.
If Riley remains the Opening Day starter at third base for the next three seasons, he will reach 10 consecutive starts at the position for Atlanta.
Such a run would make him the first player in franchise history to hold that role for an entire decade.
The milestone would further highlight Riley’s consistency and long-term value in the Braves’ lineup.
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