Field Level Media
Aug 2, 2023
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley homered and Matt Olson added his National League-leading 37th blast to pace the Atlanta Braves in a 12-5 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday in the deciding game of a three-game series.
The three home runs, which gave Atlanta six for the series, increased their major league-best total to 206.
Acuna was 0-for-6 in the series when he went deep against right-hander Lucas Giolito with one out and two on in the third inning to break a scoreless tie. It was the 25th homer for Acuna, who finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and four runs scored.
Riley and Olson hit back-to-back homers to highlight a six-run fourth inning. Riley's homer, his 25th, carried 426 feet. It was the sixth time the two have hit consecutive homers this season.
It was the second straight day that Atlanta batters hit back-to-back home runs and the league-leading 13th time this season. Since 2019, the Braves have gone back-to-back 53 times, more than any team in the league.
Atlanta's Michael Harris II went 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI; Ozzie Albies had a double, a triple and two RBI; and Travis d'Arnaud drove in two runs.
Atlanta starter Yonny Chirinos (5-4) pitched five-plus innings, departing in the sixth after giving up a pair of singles to start the frame. He allowed three runs on six hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
Michael Tonkin, Pierce Johnson, Kirby Yates and Collin McHugh each pitched an inning of relief to finish the game.
Giolito (6-8) was hammered in his second start for the Angels since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox in advance of the trade deadline. Giolito pitched 3 2/3 innings and allowed a season-high nine runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Los Angeles' C.J. Cron went 1-for-3 and extended his MLB-best hitting streak to 12 games. The Angels got a pair of RBIs from Hunter Renfroe and Eduardo Escobar, who had a triple off the right-field wall. Angels rookie outfielder Jordyn Adams made his major-league debut and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
--Field Level Media