Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Ronald Acuna Jr. homered and the visiting Atlanta Braves posted an 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the first contest of a three-game set on Friday.
Jorge Mateo drove in two runs and Dominic Smith had three hits and two runs for Atlanta, which earned its major league-leading 39th win and improved to 20 games above .500. Grant Holmes tossed 4 2/3 innings for the Braves, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking one. Didier Fuentes (4-0) earned the win, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
Chris Paddack (0-7) continued his winless start to the season, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks across five innings for the Reds, who dropped their second straight after winning five of their previous six. JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe each homered for Cincinnati.
Acuna opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the first — his fourth home run of the season and second in as many games.
In the second, Smith singled before Austin Riley and Mike Yastrzemski both walked to load the bases with nobody out. Mateo then drove in the second Atlanta run with a groundout. Chadwick Tromp followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
After Acuna’s walk, Harris’ RBI single extended the margin to four.
The Reds cut into their deficit in the bottom of the fourth, as Bleday launched his eighth homer of the season to begin the frame. Sal Stewart followed with a double, but was caught stealing by Tromp for the second out.
Lowe sliced the Reds’ deficit to 4-2 with a solo homer to right — his ninth of the year.
Holmes allowed TJ Friedl’s leadoff single in the fifth, before Bleday’s two-out base hit placed runners on the corners. Fuentes then replaced Holmes and surrendered an RBI single to Stewart, cutting the lead to 4-3.
Yunior Marte threw the sixth for the Reds, allowing Smith’s leadoff single before hitting Riley with a pitch. Yastrzemski laced a double to give the Braves a 5-3 edge. Mateo followed with a run-scoring single, and Harris drove in two more with a double to left.
