ATLANTA (AP) — Marcell Ozuna shrugged off the chants of “MVP! MVP! MVP!”

The Atlanta Braves slugger knows, better than most, how fleeting the good times can be.

“You have to be at the same level,” Ozuna said, “so you don’t get comfortable.”

Only a year ago, his career was hanging by a thread. The same fans who cheer him now were booing lustily every time he stepped to the plate. It seemed just a matter of time before he was sent packing by the Braves.

But the team stuck with him, and Ozuna is again one of baseball’s most feared hitters. He went deep twice Wednesday night, leading Atlanta to a 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox and passing Shohei Ohtani for the MLB’s home run lead with 12.

The burly DH nicknamed “Big Bear” also awoke Thursday leading the big leagues with 38 RBIs — five more than anyone else — and ranked second to Ohtani in both slugging percentage (.646) and OPS (1.042). For good measure, he was among top 20 in hitting with a .315 average.