Drake Baldwin powers Braves past Rockies 9-1 as Chris Sale dominates again

DENVER (AP) — Drake Baldwin homered and drove in four runs, Chris Sale allowed one run in seven innings and the Atlanta Braves rolled past the Colorado Rockies 9-1 on Saturday night.

Austin Riley and Matt Olson also homered for the Braves, who won for the 14th time in 17 games and improved their MLB-best record to 24-10.

Sale (6-1) gave up three hits and struck out 11 batters while earning his MLB-leading sixth win. In his last four starts, the nine-time All-Star has allowed just three earned runs with 33 strikeouts and seven walks over 26 innings.

Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. left in the second inning with left hamstring tightness. He was attempting to run out a grounder before he pulled up about halfway down the base path and grabbed at his left hamstring. He was replaced by Eli White in right field.

Manager Walt Weiss said after the game that Acuña will get an MRI and the team likely wouldn’t know more about the extent of the injury until later Saturday or Sunday.

Baldwin matched his single-game career high with three hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Olson’s homer, a 414-foot moonshot to right field in the ninth inning, was his team-high 11th. Ozzie Albies added two hits, including his eighth double of the season, to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

The Braves are 22-6 against the Rockies since the start of the 2022 season and have won 13 of their past 16 games at Coors Field dating to September 2021.

Brennan Bernardino (2-1) took the loss after allowing Baldwin’s two-run homer in the first inning and was pulled for Chase Dollander after just two-thirds of an inning. Dollander allowed a season-high six runs in 5 1/3 innings after giving up only four earned runs in 28 innings in six appearances in April.

Jordan Beck drove in Colorado’s lone run with an RBI double in the third.

Up next

Colorado LHP Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48 ERA) will face Atlanta RHP Spencer Strider, who'll make his season debut Sunday in the final game of the series.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB