The reports of the Braves’ offensive demise were greatly exaggerated.
A night after the lineup was blanked for the first time since last July, the Braves awakened with a vengeance, running away with a 13-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians to win their third rubber match of the season.
With the victory, Atlanta is the last team in the league to have not lost a series this season.
Atlanta finished with 19 hits, its third game with at least 15 this season and the most hits a major league team has had in a game this season. Nine different players earned a hit, led by a 4-for-4 night from Jorge Mateo and three-hit nights from Ozzie Albies and Mauricio Dubon.
The Braves’ offense handed Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (0-2, 6.38 ERA) the worst start of his major league career. He let up a career-high eight runs and a career-high-tying 11 hits.
It didn’t get any better when former Brave Kolby Allard came out of the bullpen for Cleveland as Atlanta tagged him for five runs on eight hits over three innings of relief work.
The bottom four spots in the order played a big role in Sunday’s win, amassing a combined 12 hits and eight RBIs. Mauricio Dubon and Jorge Mateo opened the scoring with consecutive two-out RBI hits in the second before Ronald Acuña Jr. followed with an RBI double of his own to make it 3-0.
Dominic Smith added on with a two-run homer in the fourth (his third in 12 games and 31 at-bats) to extend the Braves’ lead to 5-0.
That alone proved to be more than enough for Atlanta ace Chris Sale (3-1, 3.27 ERA), who bounced back from a rough start last time out against the Angels to look like himself again in his fourth start of the season.
It wasn’t his sharpest outing. He allowed at least one baserunner in each of his six innings on the mound and scattered eight hits. But it may have been one of his more clutch starts, as he stranded seven runners by holding the Guardians hitless in six at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Sale’s only run allowed came on a leadoff homer from Rhys Hoskins in the sixth and he bounced back to retire the final three batters he faced.
Even with such a cushion thanks to Sale’s strong start, the offense kept piling on with a four-run fifth to open up 9-0 lead. After Drake Baldwin — the only starter to finish without a hit — lined out, five of the next six batters reached, highlighted by an RBI single from Albies, a two-run double from pinch hitter Kyle Farmer and another RBI hit from Dubon.
Just for good measure, Atlanta tacked on four more runs in the eighth, forcing Cleveland to bring catcher Austin Hedges into the game to get the final out in the ninth.
The freshly called-up Dylan Dodd carried things the rest of the way after Sale’s departure, tossing three shutout, one-hit innings to close out a stress-free win and earn his third career save.
The Braves remain at home to begin next week, kicking off NL East play with a three-game series against the Marlins before heading north for a weekend set against the Phillies.
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