Atlanta needed one inning to turn a tied game into a lead it would not give back. The Braves scored twice in the fifth, and that was enough to beat San Diego 3-2 at Truist Park.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| ATL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Michael Harris homered to right in the fifth, a 341-foot drive that tied the game at 1-1. Two batters later, Joey Bart doubled to left, driving in Dubón and putting Atlanta ahead for good. Ozzie Albies added a solo homer to left in the sixth, a 393-foot shot that made it 3-1 and gave Atlanta its final margin of separation.
Bart's double was the decisive blow. Before that at-bat, the game had been tied on Harris's homer moments earlier. Once Bart's ball reached the gap and Dubón crossed the plate, San Diego never got back on level terms.
San Diego had struck first when Manny Machado homered to center in the fourth, a 402-foot shot that opened the scoring, and Ty France answered in the seventh with a 397-foot homer to left center to cut the deficit to 3-2. But San Diego starter JP Sears, who allowed 2 runs (1 earned) over 5.0 innings with 3 strikeouts, took the loss, falling to 2-3 on the season. The Padres bullpen worked 3.0 innings and allowed 1 run.
Bryce Elder picked up the win for Atlanta, allowing 2 runs over 6.0 innings with 4 strikeouts, improving to 6-6. The Braves bullpen closed it out with 3.0 scoreless innings. Atlanta has won two straight and improved to 58-41, sitting atop its division. San Diego dropped to 49-51 after the loss. Machado sits at 1,991 career games, nearing the 2,000 mark, while France remains two homers shy of 100 for his career, and Sears is 14 strikeouts from 500 for his career.