Ronald Acuna Jr. went 3-for-5 and smacked one of Atlanta’s five home runs as the Braves cruised to a 10-3 victory over the host Kansas City Royals on Friday night.
Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Sean Murphy and Sam Hilliard also went deep for the Braves, who have won four straight.
The offensive showcase made things easy for Atlanta starter Charlie Morton (2-1), who allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings to pick up the win. Morton struck out five and walked two.
Bobby Witt Jr. had three hits and Edward Olivares tripled for Kansas City, which has lost four of its last five.
Despite a 34-pitch first, Royals starter Brady Singer (1-1) ended up lasting five innings but surrendered eight runs on 10 hits. He fanned eight without issuing a walk.
Atlanta pounced on Singer right out of the gate, striking for four runs in the first.
Olson smacked a two-run homer and Riley followed with a solo shot, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead three batters into the game. Vaughn Grissom’s two-out double brought in another run, but Kansas City pulled within 4-1 in the home half of the inning when MJ Melendez hit a leadoff double and later scored on Morton’s error.
Singer couldn’t settle down, though, allowing Hilliard’s solo home run and Murphy’s two-run double in the second. Although Atlanta blew things open in the frame, it lost its manager in the process, as Brian Snitker was ejected.
With Acuna on first, Olson hit a fly ball down the left field line that was originally called foul. Video review showed the ball was actually fair, and umpires in New York awarded Acuna second and Olson first. Snitker argued about the placement of the runners and was subsequently tossed.
Michael Massey’s sacrifice fly in the fourth made it 7-2, but Murphy re-established the Braves’ six-run lead an inning later with a solo homer.
The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the fifth but could muster only one run. Acuna then ripped a two-run shot in the sixth, officially putting the game out of reach.
–Field Level Media
