BOSTON — Michael Harris II had four hits, including a two-run home run, Matt Olson added another two-run homer, and the Atlanta Braves held on to beat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 on Tuesday night.
The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Braves, who have beaten the Red Sox in three of their four meetings this season. It was the ninth career four-hit game for Harris and his second of the season.
Atlanta took a 7-4 lead into the ninth, when things got a little dicey
Boston led off the inning with a single by Mickey Gasper and a double by Nick Sogard off Raisel Iglesias.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa closed to gap to a run with a two-run single, followed by a single by Jarren Duran. Ceddanne Rafaela hit a groundball into a force at third for the second out of the inning.
Wilyer Abreu then hit a tapper back to Iglesias to end the game.
Braves starter Spencer Strider (3-0) went five innings plus one batter, allowing three runs on three hits, including two home runs. Iglesias picked up his ninth save.
Duran, Rafaela and Kiner-Falefa homered for Boston, which has lost four straight. Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez (2-3) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing five runs on six hits, including a home run by Olson.
Kiner-Falefa’s seventh-inning blast off Dylan Lee into the seats of the Green Monster got Boston within 5-4 in the seventh.
But the momentum was short-lived, with Harris’ homer in the following inning pushing the lead back to three runs.
The night of round trippers started when Duran and Rafaela hit back-to-back homers in the first inning, sending ropes to opposite sides of the field to put Boston in front 2-0.
Suarez mostly cruised until the fifth inning, when Atlanta tied it on Olson’s two-out, two-run homer to right field. It was the 15th of the season for Olson, who entered the night with only two extra-base hits (both doubles) in his previous 13 games.
That was followed in the sixth inning by Harris’ go-ahead RBI double that scored Austin Riley.
Suarez exited after Harris’ double in favor of reliever Greg Weissert. But it didn’t stop Atlanta from adding two more runs via a Dominic Smith RBI groundout and a Ronald Acuña Jr. RBI single that made it 5-2.
Up next
Braves RHP Bryce Elder (4-2, 1.97 ERA) is set to start opposite Red Sox LHP Connelly Early (4-2, 3.33)
