Acuna’s glove, bat key Braves’ win over Phils

Ronald Acuna Jr. homered and totaled four RBIS off Aaron Nola and flashed fancy defense in right field, lifting Atlanta past Philadelphia 4-3 on Saturday.

Acuna went deep for the second straight game, making it 2-0 in the third and tagging Nola (9-12) for a two-run double in the fourth. He ran forward and stretched out to strand the bases loaded by robbing Bryce Harper of extra bases in the fifth with the Braves up 4-0.

The Phillies trimmed their deficit to 4-2 in the seventh when Desert Oasis and UNLV product Bryson Stott singled off Collin Mchugh and scored from first on Matt Vierling’s double. Philadelphia made it 4-3 in the eighth against Raisel Iglesias on Stott’s RBI single.

The victory was dampened because of a broken right pinky finger sustained by second baseman Ozzie Albies, who was injured sliding head-first safely into second base in the fourth. Albies, a two-time All-star, could be out several weeks. He returned from an 81-game absence Friday because of a broken left foot.

Atlanta improved to 67-28 since June 1, the majors’ best record in that span. The defending World Series champion Braves remained one game behind the first-place New York Mets in the National League East. They have won seven straight at home.

The Phillies are 59-34 since June 1, the fifth-best winning percentage over that span, but lost third their straight after winning five in a row.

■ Cardinals 5-1, Reds 1-0: At St. Louis, Yadier Molina hit a two-run homer in Game 1 to back Dakota Hudson (8-7), who allowed one run over eight innings. Andrew Knizner scored the winning run in the 11th in Game 2 on a throwing error by center fielder Nick Senzel, who was playing third base in a five-man infield.

■ Rockies 3, Cubs 1: At Chicago, Charlie Blackmon hit a tiebreaking RBI triple and scored in the ninth. Chicago rookie Hayden Wesneski allowed one run on three hits while striking out seven over seven innings in his first major league start.

■ Brewers 4, Yankees 1: At Milwaukee, Willy Adames hit his 30th homer of the season, a three-run shot, to back Brandon Woodruff (13-5), who allowed one run while striking out 10 in eight innings.

■ Blue Jays 6, Orioles 3: At Toronto, Raimel Tapia hit a three-run double to back Jose Berrios (11-5), who allowed two runs in six innings to improve to 8-0 against Baltimore.

■ Royals 9, Red Sox 0: At Boston, Vinnie Pasquantino had three hits and three RBIS, and Brady Singer (9-4) pitched six shutout innings to win his fifth straight decision.

■ Athletics 8, Astros 5: At Houston, Seth Brown hit a go-ahead three-run homer and an RBI double for Oakland, which overcame Houston’s three first-inning homers.

■ Padres 2, Diamondbacks 0: At Phoenix, Luis Campusano homered and singled to back Joe Musgrove (10-7), who struck out eight in six shutout innings.

■ Rays 5, Rangers 1: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Taylor Walls homered, and David Peralta and Wander Franco each added a sacrifice fly for Tampa Bay.

■ Nationals 5, Marlins 3: At Washington, Lane Thomas’ leadoff home run was the first of Washington’s four solo shots in the first five innings.

■ Guardians 5, Twins 1: At Cleveland, Owen Miller hit a two-run double to back Shane Bieber (11-8), who allowed one run in eight innings.

■ Mets 5, Pirates 1: At New York, Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run homer to back Chris Bassitt (14-8), who pitched six shutout innings.

■ White Sox 4, Tigers 3: At Detroit, Yoan Moncada hit a tiebreaking RBI single in Detroit’s two-run 11th.

Brynn Anderson The Associated Press Ronald Acuna Jr. follows through on a tworun double in the fourth inning of the Braves’ 4-3 victory over the Phillies on Saturday at Truist Park. Acuna also hit a two-run homer.