04/26/24 09:03:00
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04/26 21:01 CDT Sale, Ozuna lead Braves past Guardians 6-2 in matchup of MLB's
two best teams
Sale, Ozuna lead Braves past Guardians 6-2 in matchup of MLB's two best teams
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) --- Chris Sale shook off a homer on the seventh pitch of the game
and Marcell Ozuna kept up his torrid start with two more RBIs, leading the
Atlanta Braves past the Cleveland Guardians 6-2 Friday night in the opener of a
series matching MLB's two best teams.
The reigning NL East champion Braves won for the 10th time in 11 games to
improve to 18-6, pushing them a game ahead of the AL-leading Guardians (18-8).
Sale (3-1) surrendered a homer to the very first hitter, Steven Kwan, whose
389-foot shot down the right-field line bounced around in the Chop House
restaurant. Braves right fielder Ronald Acua Jr. barely moved as Kwan circled
the bases with the third leadoff homer of his career.
That was pretty much it against Sale, who gave up only one more hit while going
seven innings for his third straight start. He walked one, struck out six and
threw 67 of 95 pitches for strikes.
Ozuna erased Cleveland's tenuous lead in the fourth with a double to left off
Logan Allen (3-1) that brought home Austin Riley and Matt Olson. Both runners
reached without benefit of a hit --- Riley walked and Olson was hit by a pitch.
Ozuna now has a majors-leading 31 RBIs on the season, the most ever by a Braves
player before the month of May. He had been tied with Dale Murphy (29 in 1985)
and Hall of Famer Chipper Jones (29 in 1998).
Michael Harris II followed with a blooper to center that drove in Ozuna. The
Big Bear initially paused, thinking the ball might be caught, before lumbering
home with a flopping, headfirst slide.
Olson tacked on a run-scoring single in the fifth as the Braves knocked out
Allen, who was charged with four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Orlando Arcia homered
in the eighth off Pedro Avila.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Guardians: RHP James Karinchak (shoulder) joined the team for the road trip,
giving him a chance to work with the big league training staff as he prepares
for a rehab assignment. ... RHP Gavin Williams (elbow) will be shut down at
least through the middle of next week after getting an injection that the team
hopes will alleviate his issues. ... LHP Sam Hentges (middle finger
inflammation) is nearing a return after throwing a pair of scoreless innings
during his minor league rehab assignment.
Braves: 2B Ozzie Albies came off the 10-day injured list right on schedule
after sustaining a fractured toe when hit by a pitch on April 15. He wasted no
time making an impact with two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
UP NEXT
RHP Charlie Morton (2-0, 4.70) gets the nod for Atlanta in the second game of
the series Saturday night. He'll be opposed by Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (2-0,
4.44).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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