Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves

· Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays

33-37, 14-14 Away

Final
3 - 7

Atlanta Braves

37-30, 20-12 Home

Riley, Ozuna lead hitting revival in Braves' 7-3 win over Rays, helping Sale improve to 7-0 at home

Chris Sale (9-2) improved to 7-0 at home. The left-hander allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in seven innings.

Braves leadoff hitter Michael Harris II left in the first inning with tightness in his left hamstring and is headed to the 10-day injured list, according to manager Brian Snitker.

“He said he felt something,” Snitker said about Harris, who will have imaging tests Saturday. “That usually is not good.”

Atlanta lost right fielder and reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending knee injury May 26.

Riley had a run-scoring double in Atlanta's five-run first inning and added a two-run homer, only his fourth, in the second. He took a .220 batting average with only three homers into the game.

“I've been obviously working hard to get it right,” Riley said. “To see some results is nice.”

The Braves' seven runs, all in the first two innings, were their top total for a full game since an 8-3 win at Boston on June 4. It was a much-anticipated bright spot for a struggling lineup.

“Getting Austin involved is huge for us,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

The Braves' 3.55 runs per game since May 1 ranked as the second-lowest average in the majors, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox (3.25), in that span.

Atlanta's bats showed encouraging production in a 6-3 win at Baltimore on Thursday that ended a five-game losing streak. The Braves' 12 hits against Baltimore was their most since June 1. They added 12 against Rays right-hander Zack Littell (2-5) and four relievers.

Ozuna has been the lone consistent hitter in the otherwise disappointing lineup. He leads the NL with 19 homers and 60 RBI.

“I don't feel like he's getting enough love from the baseball world for what he is doing for us, almost on a nightly basis,” said Riley about Ozuna.

The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the first on Amed Rosario's RBI double but stranded runners on second and third when Sale struck out Jose Siri and Jonny DeLuca.

Littell allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits, including the homers by Ozuna and Riley, in two innings.

“Just didn't execute,” Littell said. “Just a bad night. Threw pitches in bad spots. Kind of went away from what I was doing well.”

Braves left fielder Jarred Kelenic made a leaping catch at the wall of DeLuca's drive off Dylan Lee in the ninth following a double by Siri. Richie Palacios, who had a run-scoring double in the seventh, drove in Siri with a single. Raisel Iglesias recorded the final out for his 18th save.

TRAINERS ROOM

Rays: DH/OF Harold Ramírez, who was designated for assignment last week, is a free agent after receiving his outright release. ... 2B José Caballero (illness) left the game in the third inning.

Braves: RHP Ian Anderson is moving closer to a rehab assignment as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery in April 2023. Anderson has been throwing at the team's Florida complex and is moving closer to a rehab assignment. "He's been pretty good,” Snitker said. “It's just a matter of building him up now.”

Former Rays RHP Charlie Morton (3-3, 4.12) will face his former team when the Braves are matched against Tampa Bay RHP Ryan Pepiot (4-3, 4.17) on Saturday. Morton pitched for the Rays in 2019 and 2020.

How can I watch Tampa Bay Rays vs. Atlanta Braves?

TV Channel: Rays at Braves 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Braves: 66.4%

Rays: 33.6%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Díaz grounded out to shortstop.
	9th Inning	Iglesias relieved Lee
	9th Inning	Jackson walked.
	9th Inning	Palacios to second on fielder's indifference.
	9th Inning	Palacios singled to right, Siri scored.
	9th Inning	Walls struck out swinging.

Statistics

TB		ATL
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	1
14	Ground Balls	15
9	Strikeouts	8
3	Runs Batted In	6
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
8	Hits	12
0	Stolen Bases	1
3	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
3	Runs	7
2	Ground Into Double Play	0
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
33	At Bats	38
0	Home Runs	2
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
20	Runners Left On Base	15
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
4	Doubles	4
10	Fly Balls	15
0	Caught Stealing	0
137	Pitches	165
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	1
12	Total Bases	22
37	Plate Appearances	40
0.0	Projected Home Runs	324.0
4	Extra Base Hits	6
3.4	Runs Created	7.7
.242	Batting Average	.316
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.364	Slugging Percentage	.579
.212	Secondary Average	.316
.324	On Base Percentage	.350
.688	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.929
1.4	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.0
3.4	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	8.0
28.0	Batter Rating	53.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	19.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	1.00
3.70	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.13
.121	Isolated Power	.263
0.33	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.13
.081	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.025
-.030	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.000
6.0	Runs Produced	13.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	0.9
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.6
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.4
77.5	MLB Rating	98.3
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0