*Photo from Battery Power*
The Tomahawk chop is continuing to roll along. Matt Olson drove in two runs, Vaughn Grissom had the game winning hit, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Kansas City Royals with a 5-4 victory on Sunday in Kansas City.
Atlanta has now won 6 games in a row on the back of consecutive series sweeps, improving their record to 12-4 to open the season, first place in the NL East. Olson and Grissom were the bulk of the offense with 3 RBI's combined.
Grissom said of his game winner "That pitch was a hanger. It would have been easy to pull my shoulder and hit a ground ball to short. That would have been the easy route. You just have to stick through it and trust the guy behind me. That was my only job, to get Albies to third base."
Olson started the Braves run in the 3rd inning, hitting a triple that scored Ronald Acuna Jr and Sam Hilliard to make it 2-0 Braves. He then scored on a sac fly off the bat of Austin Riley to make it a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Franmil Reyes scored for the Royals on a groundout from Bobby Witt Jr, making the score 3-1.
In the 4th inning, Ozzie Albies gave the Braves a 4-1 lead with a solo home run to right field. Reyes got another run back for the Royals in the 5th inning with an RBI single to make it a 4-2 game. Vinnie Pasquantino hit a two run home run in the 7th inning, tying the score 4-4. Albies then scored in the 9th on Grissom's single to give the Braves a 5-4 win.
Getting the start for the Braves was Kyle Wright, who allowed two runs on 4 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Michael Tonkin pitched the next 1 1/3 innings, allowing two runs. Nick Anderson got the win with a scoreless 8th inning, with AJ Minter working the 9th to get the save.
Asked about his latest start, Wright said that "The rhythm was way better. I was throwing a lot more strikes. I thought my stuff moved better and my curveball command was more consistent. I didn’t hang too many curveballs, which for me is definitely a good sign."
It was Zack Greinke on the hill for the Royals, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk in 6 innings pitched. Josh Taylor came out of the bullpen and pitched a scoreless inning in the 7th, with Aroldis Chapman doing the same in the 8th. Scott Barlow got the loss in the 9th inning.
Pasquantino said of the loss after the game that "Showing fight was good, but we’re all disappointed in the result. It got real loud there with Brave fans at the end. It’s disappointing at home, but that’s on us. The Braves are known for having a good traveling fan base. To be honest, that’s something we think we can have here in Kansas City. But that’s on us. We have to show the fans we’re worth coming to watch."
Up next, the Braves head out west to face the San Diego Padres on Monday, with Max Fried to get the start. Jordan Lyles will start for the Royals when they face the Texas Rangers at home on Monday.
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