Matt Olson has been doing plenty of damage lately.
Saturday could be a different story.
The Braves slugger draws about as unfavorable an individual matchup as a hitter can get when Atlanta faces Gerrit Cole and the Yankees.
Olson is a comical 0-for-21 lifetime against Cole, drawing two walks while striking out 14 times in 23 plate appearances.
Cole, meanwhile, is beginning to look much more like himself after spending the early portion of the season working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
The right-hander missed all of 2025 and did not return to the Yankees’ rotation until May 22.
There were some bumps along the road as Cole rebuilt his workload and command. But since the calendar turned to July, he has posted a 2.75 ERA with 44 strikeouts over 36 innings across six starts.
His two most recent outings have been particularly encouraging. Cole fired six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against the White Sox before holding the Cubs to one run while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings.
That is particularly concerning for Olson because his struggles against Cole have gone well beyond bad luck.
Fourteen strikeouts in 21 official at-bats means Cole has punched out Olson two-thirds of the time. Olson has rarely even been able to put the ball in play against him, let alone square him up.
It’s the most plate appearances Olson has had against any pitcher in his career without recording a hit.
There is always risk in leaning too heavily on batter-versus-pitcher history.
Olson remains one of Atlanta’s biggest power threats, and one mistake could change the matchup with a single swing.
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Still, that statline against Cole is hard to ignore.
With Cole rounding into form after his long injury layoff, Saturday looks like another difficult spot for Olson to finally break through.
The Play: Matt Olson Under 0.5 hits (+150, BetMGM)
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Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports. He’s particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA.
