Fried and Ozuna help Atlanta beat Cubs

Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson and Adam Duvall scored for Atlanta, which had lost five of six. The Braves were 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position one night after going 0-for-14 in those situations in a 10-inning loss in the series opener.

Fried (4-2) retired his first 15 batters before Ian Happ hit a double in the sixth. Happ and Dansby Swanson singled in the eighth for Chicago’s other two hits.

“Tonight I wanted to put the emphasis on the hitters, making early contact and being a little more aggressive rather than trying to make a perfect pitch in the corners,” Fried said.

Fried improved to 6-0 with a 1.18 ERA in six career starts against the Cubs. The left-hander earned his first major league victory when he pitched five one-run innings in a 5–1 victory at Wrigley Field on September 3, 2017.

Fried, 30, also earned a 5-0 win over Miami on April 23, striking out six on three batters.

“It’s something I pride myself on, being able to get deeply involved in the games,” Fried said.

Steele was charged with five runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. The southpaw is 0-2 with a 6.53 ERA in four starts since returning from a left hamstring injury.

Steele (0-2) retired his first six batters before Michael Harris II hit a leadoff single in the third. Duvall then connected for his third homer, a 423-foot drive to center.

“I could definitely throw that throw again and pop up or something and it shows up a little different in the box score,” Steele said. “But there are guys out there who are as good as me. He did a good job.”

The Braves opened the scoring with six runs in the seventh. Ozuna hit a three-run shot against Jose Cuas with two outs, and Olson followed with a drive to right for an 8-1 lead.

Ozuna’s 15th home run on the eighth pitch of his at-bat extended his hitting streak to 15 games. It was Olson’s seventh homer this year. The duo also hit back-to-back homers off Dylan Cease in a 6-5 loss to San Diego on Monday.

Atlanta had scored a total of 14 points in its previous six games.

“We get a few of those guys involved, I think it will relax everyone,” manager Brian Snitker said, “and get a chance, I think, to be more like us.”

Braves: After a day off, C Sean Murphy (strained left oblique) is expected to serve as designated hitter in his second rehab game with Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday. … 3B Austin Riley (left side tightness) did some more work in an inside batting cage.

Atlanta right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver (1-0, 4.26 ERA) and Chicago right-hander Ben Brown (1-1, 3.57 ERA) will start the series finale on Thursday.