ATL ReKap: Braves Rally Past Red Sox

Good evening everyone and welcome back to another blog on ATL ReKap. I hope you all are having a great night as the Braves finally get a win tonight defeating the Boston Red Sox. Let’s get straight into it.

Atlanta Braves

The Braves faced the Boston Red Sox tonight defeating them 4-2 as Kelenic shoots his first homer in a Braves uniform in the bottom of the third putting two runs to put the first runs on the board.

Marcell Ozuna's run-scoring single in the eighth inning gave Atlanta the lead, and the Braves defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Tuesday night to break a three-game losing streak.

Boston's Kutter Crawford and Atlanta's Reynaldo López each allowed two runs in a matchup of right-handers with ERAs under 2.00.

The Braves managed only seven hits, so it's premature to proclaim the end of their losing streak as a resurgence for their slumping bats. They were limited to a combined six runs while being swept in three games by the Los Angeles Dodgers to conclude a 1-5 road trip.

“It's been a tough stretch,” Braves manager Brian Snitker admitted. “But we're not out of it yet.”

Once again, the Braves relied on their pitching, particularly left-hander Aaron Bummer, who struck out Jaren Duran and Rafael Devers to end the sixth inning after the Red Sox scored two runs off López.

“I was able to retire the top of the order and minimize the damage,” Bummer reflected.

Atlanta's right-hander Joe Jiménez (1-0) left two runners stranded in the eighth when Adam Duvall made a sliding catch of Tyler O’Neill’s drive toward the left-center gap to conclude the inning.

Raisel Iglesias pitched a flawless ninth inning to secure his ninth save.

With the game deadlocked at 2, Boston's right-hander Justin Slaten (2-1) walked Ozzie Albies and conceded a single to Austin Riley to begin the eighth. Ozuna then hit a one-out grounder through the infield to bring in Albies. Riley advanced to third on the play and scored on Orlando Arcia's grounder to first, extending the lead to two runs.

In the third inning, Crawford hit Travis d'Arnaud with a pitch before Jarred Kelenic launched a belt-high cutter 368 feet over the high right-field wall for a two-run homer, his first, giving Atlanta a 2-0 lead.

This marked only the second home run allowed in eight starts for Crawford, with both occurring in his last two outings.

Crawford (1.56 ERA) and López (1.50 ERA) entered the game ranked among the ERA leaders in the majors for pitchers with at least five starts.

López encountered trouble in each of his first five innings, but he was effective in pitching out of it.

“I was impressed by his ability to dial it up to 98 mph when he needed it,” Snitker commented on López's fastball.

Duran was left stranded after leading off the game with a double and hitting a one-out triple in the fifth. López struck out Devers and Tyler O'Neill to escape the fifth inning unscathed.

However, López couldn't overcome three walks in the sixth inning, including a bases-loaded pass to Reese McGuire that brought in a run. Ceddanne Rafaela's infield single off the back of Bummer's right knee drove in Vaughn Grissom, who reached on shortstop Orlando Arcia's fielding error, tying the game at 2-2.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: OF/DH Masataka Yoshida (left thumb strain), who was placed on the injured list on May 1, will undergo a second opinion on Wednesday. ... RHP Garrett Whitlock (left oblique strain) is set to begin a rehab assignment next week.

Braves: LHP Tyler Matzek, who missed the 2023 season following Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, was placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in the elbow. The move came after another reliever, RHP Pierce Johnson, landed on the 15-day IL on Sunday with right elbow inflammation. LHP Ray Kerr was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

UP NEXT

Atlanta LHP Chris Sale (4-1, 3.44 ERA), who pitched for Boston from 2017-23 before being traded to the Braves in a deal that sent Grissom to the Red Sox, will face his former teammates on Wednesday night. Boston RHP Nick Pivetta (right elbow flexor strain) is expected to come off the IL.

As we conclude this blog, I extend warm wishes to each of you for a fantastic evening. Let's continue to embrace positivity and share love with our families and loved ones – they truly deserve it!