The Atlanta Braves officially opened a three-game series with the Seattle Mariners on Friday night, winning by a final score of 6-2. With the result, the Braves now sit at 28-16 overall for the year.
Atlanta Braves use seventh, eighth innings to beat Mariners, 6-2
It would not take long for the Braves to find the scoreboard Friday night, as Atlanta took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as a result of a Matt Olson RBI double that scored Ronald Acuña Jr., who had also doubled to lead off the inning.
With both lineups facing tough starters, the Braves and Mariners would eventually go on to kept fairly quiet offensively across the games next couple of frames, until Seattle had a run-scoring chance to tie the game in the top of the sixth. However, the score would remain 1-0 in favor of the Braves, as Michael Harris II would throw out J.P. Crawford at home trying to score from third base on a sac-fly to centerfield to end the inning.
Seattle would however go on to tie the game 1-1 in the top of the seventh via an RBI single from Eugenio Suarez, as well as shortly after take a 2-1 lead from an RBI single courtesy of Teoscar Hernandez. The Braves however would immediately respond to tie the game in the bottom of the inning via a Marcell Ozuna RBI single, which was followed by an Orlando Arcia RBI single to take a 3-2 lead.
The last offensive takeaway for Atlanta would come in the eighth inning, as Olson would hit a solo HR, along with Ozuna driving in two more runs on a single to make the score, 6-2, a score that would go on to eventually hold for Braves win.
As for the Braves pitching during the contest, Atlanta received yet another strong outing from right-hander Bryce Elder, who went six innings with two runs and seven hits allowed, along with walking one batter and compiling six strikeouts. Atlanta would also receive strong play from the bullpen, as Collin McHugh, Nick Anderson, and Raisel Iglesias would each work scorless innings to secure the win.
Noteworthy Stats
- RHP Bryce Elder: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
- 1B Matt Olson: 2/4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI
- DH Marcell Ozuna: 2/4, 3 RBI
What's Next?
The Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners will meet for game two of their three-game series Saturday night, with first pitch set for 7:15 PM ET. Atlanta's starter at the moment is TBD, while the Mariners will start RHP Logan Gilbert (1-2, 3.91 ERA).