Ozuna homers twice in Braves' 6-3 win over Marlins

ATLANTA (AP) — Marcell Ozuna believes a season-high nine extra-base hits is a sure sign the Atlanta Braves' bats are returning to their World Series championship form.

Ozuna hit two home runs as part of the barrage in Atlanta's 6-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Sunday, giving the Braves their first winning homestand of the season.

“Everything is pulling together," Ozuna said. "I think we have a good group and we are champions.”

Of the Braves' 11 hits, six were doubles and three were homers. Ozuna's second homer of the game, his 10th of the season, traveled 458 feet into the upper left-field seats in the third. It was Atlanta's longest homer of the season.

“We're starting to come around,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We have been for a few days.”

Austin Riley had two hits and drove in two runs for Atlanta. Ozuna and Riley hit backto-back homers off Elieser Hernández in the first inning. Ozzie Albies and William Contreras hit back-to-back doubles to produce a run in the second.

Riley and Matt Olson delivered run-scoring doubles in consecutive at-bats in the fifth.

Progress for Atlanta's hitters has come slowly, hitting just .202 in day games before the offensive breakout capped a 4-3 homestand. The Braves improved to 5-12 in day games.

Miami's Jorge Soler provided all of the team's runs by hitting two homers. Max Fried (5-2) gave up the first of those in the first inning before posting five consecutive scoreless innings.

In the fifth, Fried gave up back-to-back singles to Willians Astudillo and Nick Fortes before striking out Jon Berti and Jazz Chisholm Jr. Fried walked Soler to load the bases before ending the inning on Garret Cooper's weak grounder to the mound.

Overall, the left-hander gave up six hits with three walks and five strikeouts in six innings.

“I definitely didn't feel like I had great fastball command,” Fried said. “... The offense obviously exploding, a bunch of homers, took the pressure off.”

Kenley Jansen had two strikeouts in the ninth for his 12th save with Atlanta.

Soler's second HR, a two-run shot and his 11th homer of the season, came off of Jackson Stephens in the seventh. He's hit three homers this season against his former Atlanta teammates, so Snitker was glad to see Ozuna, a former Marlins player, return the favor.

“Finally we pulled out a former team card and put it to good use,” Snitker said. “Jorge has tortured us with it.”

Hernández (2-5) allowed four runs in four innings. He gave up three homers, raising his season total to 14 in 43 2/3 innings.

NATIONALS 6, ROCKIES 5

WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto snapped a 15-game home run drought with a two-run shot, Tanner Rainey got the final five outs and the Washington Nationals held off the Colorado Rockies 6-5 Sunday.

Soto added a double and a walk for the Nationals, who took three of four from the Rockies to win their first series at home. Lane Thomas had a two-run homer.

“I've been swinging the bat pretty well the last few days," Soto said after going 2 for 3. "I've been doing my homework, working on my swing, working on my stance and everything.

Just feel great.”

Rockies starter Kyle Freeland (1-5) exited with a foot injury with two outs in the sixth inning. He landed awkwardly on his 107th pitch and was helped off the field. Freeland was charged with five runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out two.

“On push off, just felt a shooting pain at the top of my foot right at the joint kind of going down my foot,” Freeland said. “I have no idea what it was. I've never had it before, but it was good that X-rays came back negative. We think it was just a little bit of impingement there, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow.”

RAYS 4, YANKEES 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Taylor Walls and Ji-Man Choi homered for Tampa Bay's only hits, and the Rays scored two runs in the seventh inning on four walks and a hit batter in a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday that gained a four-game split.

Walls, in a 1 for 34 slide, homered on a 3-1 fastball from Luis Severino (3-1) for a 2-1 lead in the fifth and then made an outstanding defensive play at second to end the eighth inning. With a runner on third, Walls ranged to the shortstop side of the base, diving to grab Aaron Hicks' grounder. Walls popped to his feet and threw out Hicks by a step at first.

“If we don't make those plays it could be a different ballgame,” said Walls, who also started an inning-ending double play from third base on Isiah Kiner-Falefa's grounder in the sixth. “The momentum goes to their side, not ours.”

Walls had said Thursday night that the Yankees were “beatable” and the Rays weren't going away.

“There was no shade thrown at them when I said that. I think that comment got blown way out of proportion,” he said. “All I meant is that the Tampa Bay Rays can play and beat any team in this league. I don't speak for just this team, I think everybody around the league knows that as well. Any day of the week, any team can be beat, so that's all I meant by that comment.”

Gleyber Torres had three hits, including a second-inning home run against Shane McClanahan (5-2). Torres' ninth home run of the season matched in 161 plate appearances his total in 516 last season.

RED SOX 12, ORIOLES 2

BOSTON (AP) — Bobby Dalbec hit a two-run homer, one of Boston's season-high five longballs, and the Red Sox coasted to a 12-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

Rafael Devers, Kiké Hernández, Franchy Cordero and Christian Arroyo each hit a solo drive for the Red Sox, who posted their ninth win in 12 games.

“Playing here is always fun, but it gets more fun when the ball is flying out like that in a day game,” Dalbec said, smiling.

All five Boston home runs came in four innings against Bruce Zimmermann (2-3). He allowed a previous career-high four homers in his last start Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

Chants of “Let's go, Celtics!” echoed around Fenway Park a handful of times and got louder when Boston scored five times in the eighth. The Celtics played at the Miami Heat hours later in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

Xander Bogaerts had three hits, including a two-run double. Cordero added a two-run double and Arroyo homered on the first pitch after he had to get a new bat.

“Energy comes from offense and we did a good job offensively today,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “The bottom of the lineup was outstanding.”

TWINS 7, ROYALS 3

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota's Sonny Gray and Kansas City's Zack Greinke left Sunday's game with injuries, leaving their teams to wonder how much time each will miss.

Gray cruised and was backed by Gio Urshela's three-run homer before leaving in the seventh inning because of right pectoral soreness during the Twins' 7-3 win over the Royals on Sunday.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Gray felt “minor pec tightness” for a couple of pitches. Gray was getting an MRI after the game and didn't speak with reporters.

Baldelli said the team will know more in the coming days and Gray will travel with the team to Detroit.

“It wasn't something that he was pitching through, for the most part,” Baldelli said. “At that point, he has to come out. There's no way around that.

Greinke (0-4) gave up five runs, six hits and two walks in four innings.

“When he came out, we didn't know he had some issue in his forearm,” Kansas City manager Mike Matheny said. “So that's probably something that may have been with him from the beginning that we weren't aware of. But unfortunately, the elbow area, the flexor area wasn't feeling great.”