Braves 4-2 Red Sox (May 7, 2024) Game Recap

ATLANTA — Marcell Ozuna’s eighth-inning single gave Atlanta the lead and the Braves beat the Boston Red Sox 4-2 Tuesday night to end a three-game losing streak.

Boston’s Kutter Crawford and Atlanta’s Reynaldo López each allowed two runs in a matchup of right-handers with an ERA below 2.00.

With the game tied at 2, Boston right-hander Justin Slaten (2-1) walked Ozzie Albies and gave up a single to Austin Riley to open the eighth. With one out, Ozuna bounced a grounder through the infield to drive in Albies for a 3-2 lead. Riley advanced to third on the play and scored on Orlando Arcia’s grounder to first, extending the lead to two runs.

Crawford hit Travis d’Arnaud with a pitch in the third inning before Jarred Kelenic belted a 368-foot blast over the high right-field wall for a two-run homer, his first, giving Atlanta a lead 2-0.

It was only the second home run allowed in eight starts for Crawford, each in his last two starts.

Crawford (1.56) and López (1.50) began the night among the major league ERA leaders for pitchers with at least five starts.

López allowed at least one hit in each of his first five innings, but was effective in getting out of trouble. Jaren Duran found himself stranded after leading off the game with a double and hitting a triple with one out in the fifth. López struck out Rafael Devers and Tyler O’Neill to end the fifth.

López couldn’t overcome three walks in the sixth inning, including a bases-loaded pass to Reese McGuire that forced a run. Ceddanne Rafaela’s infield single off the back of left-hander Aaron Bummer’s right knee drove in Vaughn Grissom, who reached on shortstop Orlando Arcia’s defensive error, for a 2-2 tie.

Atlanta right-hander Joe Jiménez (1-0) stranded two runners in the eighth when Adam Duvall made a sliding latch from Tyler O’Neill’s run to the left-center gap to end the inning.

Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save.

TRAINERS ROOM

Red Sox: OF/DH Masataka Yoshida (sprained left thumb), who was placed on the injured list on May 1, will get a second opinion Wednesday. … RHP Garrett Whitlock (left oblique strain) is expected to begin a rehab assignment next week.

Braves: LHP Tyler Matzek, who missed the 2023 season following Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, was placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. The move came after another reliever, RHP Pierce Johnson, landed on the 15-day IL on Sunday with right elbow inflammation. LHP Ray Kerr was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

FOLLOWING

Atlanta LHP Chris Sale (4-1, 3.44 ERA), who pitched for Boston from 2017-23 before being traded to the Braves in a deal that sent infielder Vaughn Grissom to the Reds Sox, will face his former teammates Wednesday night. Boston RHP Nick Pivetta (right elbow flexor strain) is expected to come off the IL and be ready to pitch five innings.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb