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Add Ozzie Albies to the growing list of Atlanta Braves hitters who are heating up at the plate. The switch-hitting second baseman had three more hits on Thursday, and the Braves have scored 24 runs in their past three games.

Atlanta will look for its fourth straight win on Friday when it continues a four-game home series against the Colorado Rockies. The Braves have won 10 of their past 12 games, while the Rockies have dropped two in a row and eight of 11.

Albies went 3-for-4 with a three-run double as Atlanta won 8-3 on Thursday in the series opener. He is batting .500 (6-for-12) with two doubles, one homer and five RBIs over the past four games, and he is hitting .320 with five homers and 13 RBIs over his past 14 games.

Albies is hitting .419 with five homers and 18 RBIs against left-handed pitchers and .203 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs against right-handers.

“Just trusting the process and not looking back,” Albies said. “That’s what I do. Everything is working and everything is going to be great.”

The Braves have the majors’ best offense in June, as they lead in OPS (.867), batting average (.303), slugging percentage (.510), home runs (23, tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers) and runs (81).

“A lineup like that is extremely capable of exposing bad pitches, and that’s what they do,” said Colorado’s Kyle Freeland, who started and lost the Thursday game.

The starting pitchers for Friday will be Colorado right-hander Dinelson Lamet (1-3, 10.38 ERA) and Atlanta left-hander Jared Shuster (3-2, 5.05).

Lamet will be making his fourth start since moving from the bullpen into the rotation. He pitched a season-high five innings in his latest outing, on Sunday against the San Diego Padres, when he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits.

Lamet is 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA in three starts and was 1-1 with a 12.66 ERA in 12 relief appearances prior to spending time on the injured list due to lower back stiffness.

In five career appearances, two starts, against Atlanta, Lamet is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He hasn’t started against the Braves since 2019.

Shuster has become a reliable member of the Braves’ rotation since Max Fried and Kyle Wright were placed on the injured list. In his past five starts, the rookie is 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA.

In his most recent appearance, Shuster earned his third win in four starts by pitching five innings and allowing three runs on eight hits against the Washington Nationals on Saturday. He has never faced the Rockies.

On Thursday, Colorado third baseman Ryan McMahon went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to eight games. McMahon has reached base in 21 of his past 23 games.

Atlanta placed right-hander Jesse Chavez on the injured list on Thursday because of a left shin contusion. The middle reliever was hit by a line drive on Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader with Detroit and had to be carried off the field.

Chavez was replaced on the roster by right-hander Ben Heller, who was obtained from the Tampa Bay Rays on June 6 in exchange for international bonus pool money.

–Field Level Media