Ozzie Albies drove in three runs to support a strong starting effort from Max Fried and the Atlanta Braves beat the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 on Friday night.
Albies was 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and scored three times to pace Atlanta’s 11-hit attack. He now has 36 extra-base hits, 21 doubles, five triples and 10 home runs.
Fried (4-4) pitched seven innings, matching his season best, and allowed one run on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts. It was the sixth time he’s allowed only one run in 11 starts this season.
Edgar Santana and Jacob Webb finished the game with one scoreless inning apiece.
The Cardinals continued to struggle to score runs. They have combined for 10 runs over their last seven games and have dropped the first two games of the series.
St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez (3-8) took the loss, his fourth straight. He lasted only three-plus innings and allowed eight runs on eight hits, four walks and three strikeouts.
The Cardinals scored a run in the first. Tommy Edman led off with a double and scored on Paul Goldschmidt’s one-out infield grounder.
The Braves tied the game in the bottom of the first on Austin Riley’s soft RBI single to right.
Atlanta rallied for four runs in the second inning. William Contreras hit a solo homer, his seventh. Freddie Freeman drove in Ronald Acuna Jr., who walked and stole second, and scored on Albies’ long homer to right, his 10th.
The Braves had another four-run outburst in the fourth. RBI singles by Albies and Abraham Almonte, combined with Riley’s sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk to Fried, gave Atlanta a 9-1 lead.
Acuna was walked twice and hit by a pitch and has reached base safely in 26 consecutive games.
–Field Level Media