Atlanta Braves “Sale” to 20th win, haven’t lost a series this season

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On Sunday, the Atlanta Braves were looking to extend a particular streak when they hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in game three of a three-game series. Atlanta won the first game on Friday night, 5-3, and Philadelphia won the second game following a rain delay in extra innings on Saturday night, 8-5.

On Sunday, with Braves ace Chris Sale on the mound, the team wasted no time getting him some run support following a 1-2-3 first inning that included striking out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper. Sale would go on to win his fifth game of the season without barely being touched during the Braves’ 6-2 victory over Philadelphia.

“I always feel good when he’s on the mound, especially in a rubber match,” said Braves manager Walt Weiss after the game. “I always talk about how special he is.”

More than 39,000 people attended the game on Sunday, making it the seventh sellout of the season at Truist Park. Atlanta has not lost a series this season.

With Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Drake Baldwin starting the game with singles, Matt Olson drove in the first three runs of the game with a home run to right field. Olson is playing at a high level this season. The home run was his seventh in 28 games.

“We never feel like we’re out of a game,” said Olson of the current team and season. “You get Sale on the mound, you feel pretty good.”

Sale struck out two more Phillies in the second inning. Then the Braves picked up two more runs for him after Mauricio Dubon led off the inning with a triple to center field, and Eli White, playing center field for Michael Harris II, who was DHing, hit a two-run home run to left field. The Braves were ahead 5-0 before Baldwin picked up his first RBI of the game after singling past Harper at first base and driving in Acuna, Jr.

Chris Sale, with a six-run lead, might be the most dangerous man on the mound in Major League Baseball. Sale had four strikeouts after two innings of work. Games like this don’t happen without strong defensive efforts behind him. A deep fly from Edmundo Sosa in the third inning was tracked down by White with a leaping catch. With the bases loaded and Harper at the plate, Sale picked up his fifth strikeout and ended the threat.

In the fourth inning, Sale struck out the side. The final pitch of the inning blew by Phillies third baseman Alec Brohm and had him slamming his bat to the ground. In the fifth inning, Sale allowed a walk and another strikeout, his ninth, without allowing a run. The sixth inning was much of the same, with Sale getting Schwarber and Harper to ground out to Olson at first, and Phillies left fielder Felix Reyes to ground out to Jorge Mateo at short. It was Sale’s fourth and last 1-2-3 inning of the game. The former Cy Young award winner left the game with nine strikeouts, one hit, and no earned runs in six innings.

Michael Harris II came into Sunday’s game on a seven-game RBI streak. Over the past week, Harris II was 13-24 with three home runs, 12 RBI, and most importantly, no strikeouts. Being able to put the ball in play at all times has helped alter Harris II’s season. He was batting fifth in the lineup from the DH spot, while nursing some quad soreness.

Philadelphia didn’t leave Truist Park empty-handed. Schwarber hit a two-run home run off Braves reliever Aaron Bummer in the eighth inning to make the score 6-2.

Robert Suarez came on in the ninth inning to pick up the save.

The Braves are off on Monday and will host the Detroit Tigers in a three-game series beginning on Tuesday. Weiss confirmed that the starters for those games will be Martin Perez, JR Ritchie, and Bryce Elder.

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