Category: Baseball

The Atlanta Braves, led by Ronald Acuna Jr.’s MVP-type numbers, will go for their eighth straight win and a three-game sweep of the visiting Washington Nationals on Sunday.

The Braves won the first two games, 3-2 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday, and improved to 4-1 against Washington this season. Atlanta has come from behind to win its last six games and is the first National League team to win 40 games.

The pitching matchups for the series finale feature two right-handers — Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (4-0, 2.26 ERA) against Washington’s Trevor Williams (2-4, 4.15).

Acuna went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run on Saturday. During the homestand he is hitting .364 (8-for-22) with three doubles, one homer, five RBIs, three runs and two stolen bases. For the season, Acuna is hitting .333 with 13 homers, 37 RBIs and 28 stolen bases.

“I’m probably playing the best baseball of my big-league career,” Acuna said. “I think I could play better. The most important thing is to stay healthy.”

Acuna had his seven-game hitting streak end on Friday but has reached base in 57 of 64 games this season. He ranks among the top 10 in the major leagues in batting average, steals, total bases, runs, multi-hit games, hits, extra-base hits, doubles, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

The Atlanta lineup has gotten more potent with the offensive turnaround experienced by Marcell Ozuna. He was hitting .073 on April 24 and appeared to be on the verge of being released. But over the last 30 games, he is hitting .306 and has lifted his batting average to .236 with 13 homers and 29 RBIs.

“It lengthens the lineup when you have a presence like Marcell,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “To have that bat in the middle is really good. And what Ronald is doing is crazy.”

Washington manager Dave Martinez said his lineup needs to be more aggressive on good pitches.

“It’s hard to hit, but when you get to 0-2, it’s really hard to hit,” Martinez said.

That hasn’t been a problem for Joey Meneses, who went 2-for-4 on Saturday and has reached base safely in a career-high 17 straight games. Meneses is hitting .364 (24-for-66) during the streak.

Elder will make his 13th start of the season. In his last outing on Tuesday against the New York Mets, he got the victory by pitching six innings and allowing four runs on four hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Elder has not faced the Nationals this season. He made three starts against Washington a year ago and went 2-0 with a 1.77 ERA. He beat them 8-0 on Sept. 26, 2022, by pitching a complete-game shutout.

Williams is a veteran who will make his 13th start of the season. In his last outing last Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, Williams took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits with four walks and six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

In eight career games (four starts) against the Braves, Williams is 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA. He made two relief appearances against Atlanta last season and last started against the Braves in 2021.

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won four straight games and 10 of their last 12. They will look to stay hot when they go for a three-game series sweep of the host Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Arizona won an 11-6 slugfest against the Tigers on Friday, then had four pitchers combine on a six-hit shutout in Saturday’s 5-0 victory.

On Friday, star rookie Corbin Carroll hit a pair of home runs. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Nick Ahmed supplied the power on Saturday. Gurriel, who missed the previous four games due to a groin ailment, blasted a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Earlier, Ahmed hit his second homer of the season, a two-run shot.

It’s still June, but few anticipated the Diamondbacks would be leading the National League West Division at this stage over free-spending Los Angeles and San Diego.

“We have a lot of talent in this room, and guys that are hungry,” Ahmed said.

Arizona is acting like it belongs in the playoff discussion.

“We have the right pieces,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We have really good players on this team. Am I surprised? No.”

Zac Gallen will start the series finale for the Diamondbacks. The 27-year-old right-hander last pitched last Sunday against the visiting Atlanta Braves, giving up three runs (two earned) and nine hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked one.

Gallen, who threw a season-high 110 pitches, had to grind through his outing.

“I felt like it was probably the worst stuff I’ve had this year,” Gallen said.

In his previous outing, Gallen (7-2, 2.75 ERA) tossed six scoreless innings against Colorado. He has never faced the Tigers.

Left-hander Joey Wentz (1-6, 7.49) has struggled throughout the season, but with the Tigers’ staff decimated by injuries, he has remained in the rotation. None of Wentz’s 12 outings would qualify as a quality start.

In his last outing, Wentz gave up five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings at Philadelphia on Monday. The 25-year-old allowed two home runs and walked a season-high five batters.

“They chipped away at him early, and he seemed to be emotional and battling himself a little bit,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said of Wentz. “Their lineup is tough. We needed as many outs as we could get from Joey … but it was a tough night.”

The Tigers were shut out for the eighth time this season on Monday and for the third time during the current eight-game slide. Kerry Carpenter has five hits in two games since coming off the injured list after a right shoulder sprain.

“It’s one of the bats we’ve really missed in the middle of our order against right-handed pitching. … (He was) really a bright spot (Saturday),” Hinch said.

The Tigers left nine runners on base on Saturday and have scored 14 runs during their losing streak. The loss of top hitter Riley Greene to a leg injury has devastated the offense.

“I could stand up here and talk about a lot of different things. You’re not going to make excuses at all,” Hinch said. “We just have to find a different way. … Obviously, getting some guys back would help. There’s some missed opportunities, there’s also some struggles by a large number of the group. (Sunday) doesn’t get any easier with Gallen, but we’ve got to find a different way, and we haven’t really done that in this stretch.”

–Field Level Media

Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter two outs into the eighth inning, Christopher Morel drove in three runs with a home run and a single and the Chicago Cubs made it two straight over the host San Francisco Giants with a 4-0 triumph Saturday night.

Hendricks was aiming for the Cubs’ first no-hitter since a four-man combined effort on June 24, 2021. Hendricks (1-2) had allowed just one baserunner — a Michael Conforto walk with one out in the second inning — before Mitch Haniger lashed a double off the left field fence on a full count with the right-hander just four outs away from history.

Matt Mervis provided Hendricks with an early lead with a leadoff home run in the third inning off Giants bulk-innings reliever Jakob Junis. It was Mervis’ third homer of the season. Morel did the rest of the Cubs’ offensive damage.

After opener John Brebbia had thrown two hitless innings, Junis (3-3) took the loss for the Giants, charged with all four Cubs runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.

Braves 6, Nationals 4

Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna Jr. hit two-run homers in the second inning and host Atlanta rolled over Washington to extend its winning streak to seven games. The Nationals have lost six in a row.

Ozuna’s homer, his 13th, went 426 feet to left-center field and scored Travis d’Arnaud, who had walked. After Kevin Pillar’s double, Acuna connected with a curveball, sending it 413 feet to right center for his 13th homer. Both long balls came off starter MacKenzie Gore (3-5).

Acuna went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and three RBIs. He is hitting .364 (8-for-22) on the current homestand. Atlanta starter Jared Shuster (3-2) pitched five-plus innings and allowed three runs on eight hits. A.J. Minter surrendered a homer to Stone Garrett to open the ninth but retired the next three batters for his ninth save.

Rangers 8, Rays 4

Corey Seager had a career day by going 5-for-5, including a two-run home run, and Texas went on to a victory over Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Rangers jumped out to a 6-0 lead by scoring three runs in the second inning and three more in the fourth. Seager played a key role in both innings, driving in two runs with a double in the second and two more with a home run in the fourth. Nathan Eovaldi (9-2) earned the win despite allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings.

The Rays rallied with a four-run fourth, highlighted by a three-run homer by Francisco Mejia, who sent a 1-0 cutter from Eovaldi into the right field seats. Tampa Bay starter Taj Bradley (4-3) took the loss after his shortest outing of the season, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits over 3 2/3 innings.

Diamondbacks 5, Tigers 0

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. returned from an injury to hit a three-run homer, and four pitchers combined on a six-hitter as visiting Arizona handed Detroit its eighth consecutive loss.

Gurriel had missed the previous four games due to a groin injury. Nick Ahmed added a two-run homer. Ryne Nelson (3-3) allowed four hits in 5 2/3 innings while notching four strikeouts for the Diamondbacks, who have won four straight and 10 of their last 12.

Matthew Boyd (3-5), Detroit’s starter, gave up all five runs and six hits in five innings. Kerry Carpenter had three hits and Miguel Cabrera had a pair of doubles, but the Tigers were blanked for the eighth time this season and the third time during their slide.

Reds 8, Cardinals 4

Rookie Andrew Abbott blanked St. Louis for 5 2/3 innings as visiting Cincinnati rolled to a victory.

Abbott (2-0), who allowed five hits and three walks, has started his big-league career with 11 2/3 scoreless innings. Luke Maile and Spencer Steer each drove in three runs for the Reds, who won for the fourth time in their last six games.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas (4-3) allowed five runs on seven hits in six innings. Dylan Carlson went 3-for-3 with two walks and a two-run homer to pace the offense. Nolan Arenado also went deep for St. Louis, which has lost six of eight.

Twins 9, Blue Jays 4

Carlos Correa hit his second career grand slam in a seven-run eighth inning as visiting Minnesota rallied to defeat Toronto.

Max Kepler added a three-run homer for the Twins in the eighth. Trevor Larnach hit a solo shot in the seventh for the Twins, who have won the first two games of the three-game series. Minnesota starter Joe Ryan allowed three runs, six hits and one walk while striking out four in six innings. Jorge Lopez (2-2) earned the win in relief.

Adam Cimber (0-2) took the loss after getting tagged for six runs on five hits and recording just one out in the eighth. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Whit Merrifield, Santiago Espinal and Nathan Lukes each had an RBI for the Blue Jays.

Dodgers 9, Phillies 0

J.D. Martinez belted a three-run homer and rookie Bobby Miller scattered three hits over six innings to lift visiting Los Angeles to a victory over Philadelphia.

Martinez’s blast capped a six-run seventh inning for the Dodgers, who have won two of their last three contests. The homer was Martinez’s 16th of the season and seventh in the last 12 games. Mookie Betts had a pair of RBI singles and joined James Outman in scoring twice. Freddie Freeman also had an RBI single.

The offense was more than enough for Miller (3-0), who struck out seven batters during his 104-pitch performance. The 24-year-old has permitted two runs on 12 hits with 23 strikeouts in 23 innings. Aaron Nola (5-5) was charged with six runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings to take the loss for Philadelphia.

Padres 3, Rockies 2

Manny Machado had three hits, Fernando Tatis Jr. had two hits and drove in a pair of runs and San Diego beat Colorado in Denver.

Drew Carlton (2-0) tossed two innings of relief and Josh Hader earned his 15th save for the Padres, who have won three straight and four out of five. Nolan Jones homered and Ezequiel Tovar had two hits for Colorado, which has lost six in a row.

Jake Bird (1-1) relieved Rockies starter Kyle Freeland and gave up the lead in the sixth. Xander Bogaerts singled and a pair of walks loaded the bases. Tatis then singled to right to drive in two runs and give San Diego the lead.

Mets 5, Pirates 1

Mark Canha drove in three runs, including a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh, as visiting New York snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating Pittsburgh.

Francisco Alvarez homered and Brandon Nimmo added an RBI single for the Mets, whose losing streak had been their longest of the season. New York starter Kodai Senga (6-3) gave up one unearned run and two hits, both singles, in seven innings, with six strikeouts and four walks.

Ji Hwan Bae had an RBI fielder’s choice for the Pirates, who have lost three of four. Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo (3-5) allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings, with five strikeouts and two walks.

Orioles 6, Royals 1

Cole Irvin pitched 5 1/3 strong innings for his first victory of the season as Baltimore beat visiting Kansas City.

Anthony Santander doubled twice and scored two runs and Gunnar Henderson and Adam Frazier each homered for the Orioles. Irvin (1-2), who is in his first season in Baltimore’s organization, allowed one run on six hits without a walk, striking out five.

Royals starter Brady Singer (4-5), who had won his previous two decisions, worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on six hits and three walks. Edward Olivares had three hits, but Kansas City lost its fifth consecutive game.

Athletics 2, Brewers 1 (10 innings)

Aledmys Diaz had three hits, including the game-winning single in the 10th inning, as visiting Oakland edged Milwaukee.

Diaz drove in automatic runner Tony Kemp with a single to center off Milwaukee reliever Joel Payamps (2-1) to give the A’s the lead in the top of the 10th. Oakland left-hander Sam Long, with automatic runner Victor Caratini on second, pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th for his first save.

The game started as a duel between Oakland’s Paul Blackburn and Milwaukee’s Julio Teheran. Teheran worked through the seventh, allowing six hits with one walk. He struck out six and threw 98 pitches, both season highs. Blackburn scattered just four singles, walked one and struck out five over six innings.

Astros 6, Guardians 4

Jose Abreu homered in the first inning for the second straight game and drove in three runs as visiting Houston snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Cleveland.

J.P. France (2-1) allowed three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. Bryan Abreu followed and Ryan Pressly allowed an unearned run in the ninth before securing his 12th save in 14 opportunities.

Cleveland grounded into three double plays and had its three-game winning streak snapped. Josh Naylor went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games. Houston recorded a season-high six stolen bases and jumped on Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie (0-1) for three runs in the first inning.

Marlins 5, White Sox 1

Jean Segura ripped a two-run double as part of a five-run rally in the ninth inning that lifted Miami past host Chicago.

The Marlins’ offense had been held in check, but it finally broke through against right-hander Joe Kelly (1-3) in the ninth. Miami left-hander A.J. Puk worked around Yoan Moncada’s double in the ninth to put the finishing touches on the victory. Steven Okert (3-0) earned the win.

Jorge Soler had three hits and Luis Arraez added two for the Marlins, who have won seven of their last eight games. Arraez raised his batting average from .400 to .402 by going 3-for-4. Andrew Vaughn homered for the White Sox, who totaled five hits.

Mariners 6, Angels 2

Seattle got four hits from J.P. Crawford, three apiece from Eugenio Suarez and Julio Rodriguez and rolled to a victory over the Angels in Anaheim, Calif., ending Los Angeles’ five-game winning streak.

The Mariners tallied 16 hits in all, also getting two hits from AJ Pollock. Seattle starter Bryan Woo, making his second major league start after getting hit hard his first time out, allowed two runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out seven. Four Mariners relievers combined to shut out the Angels over the final 4 1/3 innings to secure the victory, allowing only two hits.

Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run homer for the Angels’ only runs of the game. The Mariners broke through in the third inning with three runs against Angels starter Patrick Sandoval (3-6), who was finished after five innings, allowing five runs on a season-high 10 hits.

–Field Level Media

Domingo German allowed only a homer to Rafael Devers in six solid innings as the host New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 on Saturday night.

Gleyber Torres homered in the fourth and Willie Calhoun hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth as the Yankees beat the Red Sox for the seventh time in the past eight home meetings. Kyle Higashioka added an RBI single in the seventh.

German (4-3) allowed one run on six hits for his third career win over the Red Sox and first since Aug. 3, 2019.

Devers homered for the second straight night after ending a 16-game homerless drought on Friday. It was Devers’ 21st career homer against the Yankees since making his debut in 2017.

Before the homer, German retired Devers twice with a runner on base. In the first, German stranded Justin Turner at first by fanning Devers. Two innings later, Turner was stranded at third when left fielder Jake Bauers made a leaping catch of a Devers drive while crashing into the left-field fence.

Wandy Peralta also retired Devers with men on base to end the seventh.

Peralta walked Masataka Yoshida on the 14th pitch after eight straight foul balls and issued a free pass to Turner. He prevented the Red Sox from scoring when Devers grounded out.

Tommy Kahnle stranded a runner in a scoreless eighth and Clay Holmes allowed a single to Alex Verdugo in the ninth before getting his eighth save in 10 chances. Holmes kept Devers in the on-deck circle by retiring Turner to end it.

After Boston starter Tanner Houck (3-6) retired the first nine hitters on 42 pitches, Torres hit the first offering of the fourth into the right-field seats for his 11th homer. New York held its lead until Devers opened the sixth onto the netting above Monument Park in center field.

The tie lasted until Calhoun hit a 1-2 splitter to right for his fifth homer in the sixth inning.

Houck allowed two runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out six, walked one and fell to 0-6 over his past eight starts.

–Field Level Media

Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter two outs into the eighth inning, Christopher Morel drove in three runs with a home run and a single and the Chicago Cubs made it two straight over the host San Francisco Giants with a 4-0 triumph Saturday night.

Hendricks was aiming for the Cubs’ first no-hitter since a four-man combined effort on June 24, 2021. Hendricks (1-2) had allowed just one baserunner — a Michael Conforto walk with one out in the second inning — before Mitch Haniger lashed a double off the left field fence on a full count with the right-hander just four outs away from history.

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ seemed to have a shot at catching the ball, which barely reached the fence, but after a long run elected to play the carom rather than make a potentially dangerous lunge for the hit near the barrier.

Hendricks retired Brent Sabol on a flyout to Happ to preserve the shutout, and Julian Merryweather completed the Cubs’ seventh shutout of the year with a 1-2-3 ninth.

The 2021 Cubs no-hitter was thrown by Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel in a 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The last Cub to throw a solo no-hitter was Alec Mills against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 13, 2020.

Hendricks was making just his fourth start of the season after having suffered a capsular tear in his right shoulder last July. He struck out three in his eight innings.

Matt Mervis provided Hendricks with an early lead with a leadoff home run in the third inning off Giants bulk-innings reliever Jakob Junis. It was Mervis’ third homer of the season.

Morel did the rest of the Cubs’ offensive damage, beginning when he led off the fourth against Junis with his 10th homer of the season to make it 2-0.

The Cubs then doubled their advantage — and completed the game’s scoring — with a two-run fifth. Morel drove in the runs with a two-out single, plating Nick Madrigal, who had walked, and Mike Tauchman, who had doubled.

After opener John Brebbia had thrown two hitless innings, Junis (3-3) took the loss for the Giants, charged with all four Cubs runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.

Sean Manaea relieved Junis after Morel’s hit in the fifth and held the Cubs hitless the rest of the way, striking out five in 4 1/3 innings.

The Cubs outhit the Giants 5-1 in a game that featured four extra-base hits — the homers by Mervis and Morel, and the doubles by Tauchman and Haniger.

–Field Level Media

Jose Abreu homered in the first inning for the second straight game and drove in three runs as the visiting Houston Astros snapped a season-high, four-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.

J.P France (2-1) allowed three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. Bryan Abreu followed and Ryan Pressly allowed an unearned run in the ninth before securing his 12th save in 14 opportunities.

Cleveland grounded into three double plays and had its three-game winning streak snapped. Josh Naylor went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games.

Houston recorded a season-high six stolen bases and jumped on Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie (0-1) for three runs in the first inning.

Abreu, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Friday’s loss to the Guardians, delivered a two-run blast in the first inning. The Astros led 5-3 before adding an insurance run on Abreu’s RBI single in the ninth.

Abreu’s homer came after Jose Altuve doubled with one out and scored on Alex Bregman’s single to left field.

The Guardians responded in the bottom of the first when Naylor’s sacrifice fly scored Amed Rosario, who doubled with one out and moved to third on Jose Ramirez’s single.

McKenzie ran into trouble again in the fourth inning, when Corey Julks drew a leadoff walk and scored on Jake Meyers’ double to left field. Mauricio Dubon added a run-scoring single with one out to put the Astros ahead 5-1.

McKenzie was lifted after giving up five runs on seven hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Cleveland cut the deficit to 5-3 with two runs in the seventh inning.

France was relieved by Abreu after allowing Ramirez’s RBI single, and Naylor followed with a run-scoring single. Abreu struck out Josh Bell with two runners on to end the inning.

France recorded career highs in walks (six) and pitches (105) while striking out six batters.

Cleveland pushed a run across in the ninth when Steven Kwan scored on Naylor’s sacrifice fly.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Dodgers placed right-hander Shelby Miller on the bereavement list on Saturday.

The Dodgers recalled right-hander Andre Jackson from Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

Miller, 32, is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 24 relief appearances this season. Miller struck out three in two scoreless innings during Friday night’s 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Miller, who is with his eighth team, is 39-58 with a 4.15 ERA in 191 games (132 starts). He is in his first season with Los Angeles.

Jackson, 26, has a 6.62 ERA and two saves in seven games with the Dodgers this season. He pitched three shutout innings to record the save in Saturday’s 9-0 win over the Phillies. Overall, he is 0-1 with a 4.15 ERA and four saves in 14 games with Los Angeles over the past three seasons.

–Field Level Media

Sunday’s game between the Houston Astros and Guardians in Cleveland has been moved up to 12:40 p.m. ET due to forecast of heavy rain.

The contest was originally slated to start at 1:40 p.m.

Prior to Saturday’s contest, the Astros placed right-hander Ryne Stanek on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. The 31-year-old is 2-1 with a 4.57 ERA in 23 relief appearances this season.

The Guardians optioned right-hander James Karinchak to Triple-A Columbus and recalled left-hander Tim Herrin from the same affiliate. Karinchak, 27, is 2-4 with a 3.90 ERA in 32 appearances this season, while the 26-year-old Herrin was 1-0 with a 7.45 ERA in nine relief outings with Cleveland earlier this season.

–Field Level Media

Corey Seager had a career day by going 5-for-5, including a two-run home run, and the Texas Rangers went on to an 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Nathan Eovaldi earned the win despite seeing his scoreless innings streak end.

The Rays saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end, while the Rangers have now won 15 of their last 20.

The Rangers jumped out to a 6-0 lead by scoring three runs in both the second and fourth innings. Seager played a key role in both innings, driving in two runs with a double in the second and two more with a home run in the fourth.

The Rays pulled starter Taj Bradley just before Seager’s at-bat in the fourth, but the pitching change didn’t pay off as Seager turned on a first-pitch fastball from Rays left-hander Jalen Beeks.

Seager had singles in the first, sixth and eighth innings. He scored in the sixth on a two-out double by Adolis Garcia as the Rangers got some much-needed cushion late.

The Rays rallied back with a four-run fourth, highlighted by a three-run homer by Francisco Mejia, who sent a 1-0 cutter from Eovaldi into the right field seats.

Eovaldi’s scoreless innings streak ended at 20 1/3 innings. In his previous seven starts combined, Eovaldi allowed four runs total.

Eovaldi (9-2) rebounded with scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth, as well as recording the first out of the seventh, to earn the victory. He allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

Eovaldi exited the seventh with two runners on. Rangers reliever Josh Sborz inherited those runners and eventually found himself facing a bases-loaded, two-out situation. With the Rays having the potential game-tying run at the plate, Sborz ended the threat by inducing a groundout by Isaac Paredes.

Sborz struck out the side in the eighth, and Will Smith closed it out with a scoreless ninth.

Bradley (4-3) took the loss after his shortest outing of the season, allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna Jr. hit two-run homers in the second inning and the host Atlanta Braves rolled to a 6-4 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday to extend their winning streak to seven games.

Atlanta improved to 4-1 against Washington this season. The Nationals have lost six in a row.

Ozuna’s homer, his 13th, went 426 feet to left-center field and scored Travis d’Arnaud, who had walked. After Kevin Pillar’s double, Acuna connected with a curveball, sending it 413 feet to right center for his 13th homer. Both long balls came off starter MacKenzie Gore.

Acuna went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and three RBIs. He is hitting .364 (8-for-22) on the current homestand.

Atlanta starter Jared Shuster (3-2) pitched five-plus innings and allowed three runs on eight hits. He did not walk a batter nor record a strikeout.

Jesse Chavez pitched two scoreless innings, striking out three, and Joe Jimenez worked a scoreless eighth. A.J. Minter surrendered a homer to Stone Garrett to open the ninth but came back to retire the next three batters and earn his ninth save.

Gore (3-5) settled down after the decisive second and pitched five innings. He allowed five runs on four hits, with one walk and three strikeouts.

The Nationals got one run in the first inning when Lane Thomas tripled and scored on Luis Garcia’s sacrifice fly.

The Braves tied it in the bottom of the first. Acuna doubled and came around to score on Austin Riley’s sacrifice fly.

Washington closed the margin to 5-3 by scoring twice in the fifth. Michael Chavis and Ildemaro Vargas singled, and both were able to score when Thomas doubled to left field.

Atlanta got another run in the seventh when Pillar singled, stole second and scored on Acuna’s double.

Chad Kuhl and Jordan Weems combined to allow one run in three innings of relief for Washington.

–Field Level Media