Jarred Kelenic hit a three-run home run, and the Atlanta Braves kept their strong performance against the Colorado Rockies going with a 5-2 win on Wednesday night.
The Braves stayed half a game ahead of the Mets in the National League wild-card race. The Mets had beaten the Red Sox 8-3.
“It is important for us to win every game right now, and in this business, those ones you are supposed to win are hard to win,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It doesn’t work that way.”
Charlie Morton (8-7) pitched five innings to earn the win, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight. Atlanta’s starting pitchers have now gone 23 games in a row allowing three runs or fewer, the longest streak in the majors this season.
“I got swing-and-miss when I needed to for the most part, I just wish I could have been more efficient. … I would prefer to go much deeper in the game,” Morton said.
Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth inning, keeping his scoreless streak at 23 1/3 innings while earning his 30th save.
The Braves have now won 16 out of 19 games against Colorado since the start of the 2022 season. Michael Harris II was 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored, and Jorge Soler had an RBI.
Rockies rookie Bradley Blalock (1-2), who grew up in an Atlanta suburb, gave up four runs in five innings while walking six and allowing four hits. This was his fifth career start.
Kelenic made a big impact in the first inning when the Braves took a 4-0 lead. After Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson hit back-to-back doubles, and Travis d’Arnaud walked, Kelenic hit a splitter 395 feet into the right field seats in front of the Chop House restaurant.
“You look at the game, that was a big, big swing, because after the first, we couldn’t really do anything with that kid,” Snitker said.
