Sean Murphy’s home run lifts Braves to historic mark, on pace to shatter MLB single-season record

The Atlanta Braves just keep hitting home runs.

Braves catcher Sean Murphy drilled a two-run homer in the fourth inning of their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, which gave them a one-run lead and eventually pushed them to a 2-1 win. That marked the Braves’ 167th home run this season, which is the most that any team has recorded before the All-Star break in MLB history.

The Braves hold a 28-home-run lead over the rest of the league. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in second with 139 entering Friday. The Rays are at 135 on the season, and the Los Angeles Angels are fourth with 132.

Although the Braves have two games left before the halfway point of the season, they are well on their way to setting an MLB single-season record for home runs. The 2019 Minnesota Twins currently hold the record with 307 home runs. The Braves are on pace to hit more than 330.

Matt Olson leads the Braves with 29 home runs, which is the second-most in the league behind only Angels star Shohei Ohtani, who has 31. Ozzie Albies has 22, and Ronald Acuña Jr. has 21, which is 10th in the league. The Braves are the only team with multiple players on the top-10 list.

Murphy’s home run marked his 16th of the season. He entered Friday’s game hitting .305 with 69 hits and 50 RBI. The 28-year-old is in his first season in Atlanta after spending his first four years in the league with the Oakland A's.

The Braves have now won 19 of their past 21 games and hold the best record in baseball. They entered Friday with an 8.5-game lead over the Miami Marlins in the NL East.