*Photo from ABC30*
All these guys are doing is hitting, and hitting a lot. Austin Riley homered, Ronald Acuna Jr added a homer, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the Los Angeles Angels with a 12-5 victory on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta.
The Braves secured a series win over the Angels with a 12 run game in the series finale. The duo of Riley and Matt Olson have hit 6 back to back home runs this season, surpassing the previous franchise record. The Braves lineup has also hit 206 home runs through 106 games, on pace for 315 on the year.
Riley said of the success at the plate that "When you're trying to hit homers, the results don't come. I think guys are going up there and just trying to put up good at-bats. Guys are strong, and they aren't trying to do too much."
Acuna Jr started the scoring in the 3rd inning with a 3 run home run to center field. Hunter Renfroe hit an RBI single in the top of the 4th to make it 3-1. In the bottom of the 4th, Michael Harris II hit a two run single, Ozzie Albies drove in a run on a sac fly, Riley hit a two run home run, and Olson added a solo shot to make it 9-1 Braves.
In the 6th inning, Renfroe drove in a run with a fielders choice and Eduardo Escobar hit a two run triple to make it 9-4. Travis D'Arnaud drove in two in the bottom of the 6th to make it a 11-4 game. In the 8th, Albies drove in Acuna with a double to make it 12-4. Zach Neto got one back in the 9th for the Angels to make it a 12-5 final score.
Riley said of his back to back prowess with Olson that "You’ve got to talk to Olson. He's got the hard part. I'm just trying to go out there and put a solid swing on the ball. He seems to follow suit right after. Not much to say, other than it's impressive on his part."
Yonny Chirinos got the start for the Braves, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and one walk in 5 innings pitched, getting the win. Michael Tonkin allowed a run in the 6th before Pierce Johnson, Kirby Yates, and Collin McHugh each threw a scoreless inning to finish off the win.
Lucas Giolito got hit around for the Angels, allowing 9 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in just 3 2/3 innings, falling to 6-8 on the season. Jaime Barria came on and provided a long relief outing, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 4 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
Angels manager Phil Nevin said of the series loss that "Big picture, you want to play over .500 on the road, but certainly there were some games we thought we could’ve got. Today is a disappointment. A chance to win a series against the best team in the league."
Up next, the Angels head back home for a series with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday, with Shohei Ohtani starting the series opener. The Braves have a day off on Thursday before facing the Chicago Cubs on Friday, with Max Fried set to get the start.
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