The Atlanta Braves were the first team in Major League Baseball to win 40 games following a successful series in Cincinnati over the weekend. The Braves were back at Truist Park on Tuesday evening for the first of three games against the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays and following a 4-3 win, they are now the first team in MLB to 41 wins.
“It was a good game all around,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said after the game.
Both teams got off to good starts. The Braves scored two runs following a leadoff walk from Ronald Acuna, Jr., the hottest player in the National League after having hit five home runs, driven in 10 runs, and walked 10 times in the past seven games, and a double by Michael Harris II that brought him home. Ozzie Albies drove Harris II in a few at-bats later.
The Blue Jays, mired in third place in the American East behind the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, scored their two runs when third baseman Kazuma Okamoto hit a two-run home run to right-center field off Braves starter Bryce Elder.
Atlanta found their way back in front at 3-2 in the third inning after Albies picked up another RBI on a single off Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman. He drove in Matt Olson, who had doubled with two outs. Olson was 0-5 on Sunday in Cincinnati.
The game was tied at three when Olson his his 17th home run of the season. The solo dinger gave the Braves a 4-3 advantage and put Elder back in position to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Elder came into the game with a 2.68 ERA, and though he had given up three earned runs, he was pitching well.
After the game, the Texan credited catcher Sandy Leon for calling a good game.
“Whatever he’s seeing back there is pretty special,” Elder said.
Elder came out for the seventh and following a walk, got two bigs outs before Robert Suarez came into the game and struck out Blue Jays leadoff hitter George Springer to end the inning. Suarez is 4-0 this season and has an ERA barely over 0.70 and can be described as the best off-season pickup of the season.
Suarez kept a clean sheet for Raisel Iglesias, who came on in the ninth inning and proceeded to give up two hits before picking up his 11th save of the season.
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