After a close win Friday and a narrow loss Saturday, the Atlanta Braves left no doubt in their Sunday series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Truist Park.
The Braves leapt out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and a 5-0 advantage through two, coasting to an 8-1 win to remain unbeaten in home series this season and close out a 4-2 homestand.
Buoyed by a strong start from Grant Holmes, it was Braves’ 11th straight game allowing three runs or less, which is the franchise’s longest-such streak since
the 2002 Braves did so in 12 straight games that July.
The Braves were also one out away from their fifth shutout of the season as Nick Sogard delivered a two-out double when down to his last strike to score Connor Wong.
With the victory, the Braves are 7-1 in rubber matches this season, including 5-0 in home rubber matches.
After Brayan Bello struggled to begin the season as a starter and found more success in his last two outings pitching behind an opener, it was a blessing for the Braves that Boston elected to move him back into his starter role.
Austin Riley tagged him with a three-run homer to left in a 30-pitch first inning to stake the Braves to an early lead. It was Riley’s seventh homer of the season and fourth of the month.
Riley also added a double in the fifth, finishing with multiple extra-base hits for the first time in exactly a month.
That alone proved to be more than enough for Holmes, who delivered one of his better starts of the season. He allowed five hits (three doubles) over six innings of work, but stranded all six runners, holding the Red Sox hitless in three at-bats with runners in scoring position.
It was his second scoreless outing in nine starts this season and his fourth time tossing six-plus innings.
The Braves loaded the bases with no outs in the second against Bello and tacked on two more runs on a Drake Baldwin run-scoring walk and an RBI groundout by Matt Olson, who finished the Boston series 0-for-11.
Atlanta tacked on another run in the fourth on Mike Yastrzemski’s leadoff homer into the Chop House. After he entered the week with no homers and six RBIs in 38 games, he finished the week with two homers and six RBIs in five games.
The Braves made it 7-0 in the fifth when Riley laced a leadoff double to left and came around to score on Dominic Smith’s single.
Baldwin closed the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, robbed of extra bases by a leaping grab in center from Ceddanne Rafaela but still bringing home his second RBI of the day to reclaim the team lead with 39.
Reynaldo Lopez followed Holmes with two scoreless innings. Kinley allowed the lone run after retiring the first two batters he faced.
Up Next
No rest for the Braves, who continue a stretch of 13 games in as many days by kicking off a four-game series at Miami Monday night. J.R. Ritchie, who will be making his fifth start.
