Braves beat Orioles again to extend pair of streaks
Joc Pederson and Austin Riley homered, Dansby Swanson hit a two-run double and the visiting Atlanta Braves defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 Saturday night to extend their winning streak to eight games.
The Orioles lost their 17th straight game despite two home runs by Anthony Santander and one each by Ryan Mountcastle and Ramon Urias.
Atlanta left-hander Drew Smyly (9-3) allowed three runs and five hits with eight strikeouts in five innings. He did not walk a batter. His last defeat was May 26, a span of 14 starts without a loss. The Braves are 12-2 in those starts.
Will Smith allowed Santander’s eighth homer of the season in the ninth but still picked up his 27th save. Jorge Soler’s sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth had given Atlanta a two-run lead.
Baltimore right-hander Matt Harvey (6-13) gave up four runs, seven hits and one walk while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings.
After the Braves left the bases loaded in the first, Mountcastle hit his 21st homer of the season in the bottom of the inning.
The Braves scored twice in the third. After Soler walked and Freddie Freeman was hit by a pitch, Swanson plated them with a twoout double.
Pederson led off the fourth with his 15th homer of the season to increase the lead to 3-1.
Baltimore tied it in the bottom of the fourth when Santander and Urias hit back-to-back homers. It was the 11th of the season for Santander and the seventh for Urias.
Riley hit his 27th homer of the season with two out in the fifth and the Braves led 4-3.
Marcos Diplan replaced Harvey in the sixth after Pederson hit a one-out single. The reliever ended up tossing two scoreless frames.
Richard Rodriguez replaced Smyly in the bottom of the sixth and pitched around a leadoff single.
Tyler Matzek had a perfect seventh for the Braves.
Cole Sulser replaced Diplan with one out in the eighth after Swanson walked. Sulser worked around a balk and wild pitch to strike out two and end the threat.
Luke Jackson took over for Atlanta with one out in the eighth and survived two singles by whiffing Pedro Severino to leave them stranded.
Sulser allowed a one-out single to Stephen Vogt and a double to Ozzie Albies in the ninth. Tyler Wells replaced him and allowed Soler’s sacrifice fly.