ATLANTA – (Wire Service Report) – Atlanta’s Mike Yastrzemski’s leadoff double in the bottom of the 10th inning propelled the Atlanta Braves to a 3-2 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night. The Massachusetts native and grandson of Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski lined a 1-2 pitch into left field and past Jarren Duran’s attempted cutoff throw, allowing automatic runner Ha-Seong Kim to score the deciding run from second base.
Drake Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a home run that gave the Braves a first-inning lead. Michael Harris II also went deep before the Red Sox clawed back into a tie game with single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.
The last of five Atlanta relievers to appear, Didier Fuentes (3-0) stranded two runners on base to post a scoreless 10th. Atlanta has won five of its last six games.
Marcelo Mayer hit a game-tying homer while Mickey Gasper (2-for-5, RBI) and Ceddanne Rafaela (2-for-3, double) both had multiple hits to lead Boston, which has lost four of its last five.
Tyler Samaniego (0-2) gave up the game-winning hit.
Baldwin helped the Braves to a 1-0 start in the bottom of the first, knocking a one-out solo homer out to center field. Rafaela had the ball pop out of his glove as he attempted to make a leaping catch at the wall.
The Red Sox were held without a hit until Gasper knocked a leadoff single into right to begin the fourth, but Atlanta starter Spencer Strider wound up facing the minimum after Sandy Leon caught Gasper trying to steal second.
The bottom half of that frame saw Harris double Atlanta’s lead, crushing a leadoff line-drive shot into the bullpen in center. Boston starter Connelly Early retired the next two batters and worked around Jose Azocar’s two-out single to escape the inning without any further damage.
Strider also benefited from Rafaela being caught stealing following a leadoff double in the fifth and left with a lead after 5 1/3 despite the visitors coming within 2-1. After Carlos Narvaez knocked a leadoff double down the left field line, Gasper drove him home with a two-out RBI single off reliever Dylan Lee.
After Tyler Kinley induced back-to-back flyouts to start Boston’s seventh, Mayer’s towering blast out to right-center knotted the score.
The Red Sox had two on with two outs in the ninth with a chance to win the game, but Raisel Iglesias struck out Andruw Monasterio to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman then set down the Braves 1-2-3 to force extras.
–Field Level Media