Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves

· Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays

33-38, 14-15 Away

Final
2 - 9

Atlanta Braves

38-30, 21-12 Home

Marcell Ozuna hits 1 of 4 Braves home runs in 9-2 rout of Rays

Jarred Kelenic, in his first game batting leadoff for the Braves after a hamstring injury to Michael Harris II, was 3 for 5 with a home run and two RBI, while Austin Riley hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning. Matt Olson hit his 11th home run of the season.

“He can assume this role,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Kelenic hitting leadoff. “He can run, he can steal a base, he’s a really good outfielder. ... He’s done what we brought him in to do. I’ve been more than pleased with his defensive abilities. Now, we’re going to ask him to do a little more than we thought. If he’s going to do it, he’s ready for it now.”

Charlie Morton (4-3) allowed one run on three hits over six innings while striking out eight, walking two and hitting two batters. He also picked a runner off first.

“They are a good matchup for me if I can make my pitches,” Morton said.

Ryan Pepiot (4-4) suffered his first road loss of the season for the Rays, who have lost seven of nine. He gave up five runs on six hits, walked three and struck out four.

Pepiot started with four scoreless innings, then ran into trouble with two outs in the fifth. The Braves touched him for three home runs and he was unable to get out of the inning.

“I thought he threw the ball really really well,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The changeup to Kelenic, I think it was a 3-2 changeup, he was looking for a strike right there. Kelenic swung the bat well today and got a hold of them. After that fastball, (Pepiot) certainly could be gassed in the condition that he was pitching in. He kind of overthrew some pitches and they kind of made us pay."

Ozuna's home run came during the three-home run barrage that broke open the game. With the Rays leading 1-0, Kelenic lifted one to right field that barely cleared the wall. After Ozzie Albies walked, Ozuna hit his homer 423 feet to center, and then Olson followed with a solo shot.

Ozuna’s two RBI gave him an NL-leading 62 for the season.

“Once we took the lead right there and knowing I had the big guys coming up behind me, we can capitalize with a big inning there,” Kelenic said.

The Braves' offense, the most prolific in the majors in 2023, struggled through May and the beginning of June, and the team was hoping the bats would warm up along with the weather. Saturday, the temperature in Atlanta hit 94 and the Braves had their first four-home run game since April 19. They have scored 22 runs in their last three games after scoring just 16 in seven games previous to that.

The Rays scored in the first inning when Josh Lowe drove in Brandon Lowe with a sacrifice fly. Randy Arozarena added a solo home run in the ninth. Braves pitchers combined to strike out 12.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: Infielder José Caballero missed Saturday’s game after being pulled in the third inning Friday night due to illness. Manager Kevin Cash said Caballero was still feeling “under the weather.”

Braves: Harris has a Grade 2 hamstring strain according to Snitker. The team placed him on the 10-day IL, but the expectation is he will be there longer. The Braves promoted veteran outfielder Ramón Laureano and started him in right field. Laureano was released by Guardians in May after hitting just .143 in 31 games, but he hit .362 with Triple-A Gwinnett in 14 games. He was 1 for 4 on Saturday.

Braves rookie RHP Hurston Waldrep (0-1, 17.18) will make his second Major League start against Rays RHP Zach Eflin (3-4, 4.06) in the series finale on Sunday.

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

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

Matchup Prediction

Braves: 62.1%

Rays: 37.9%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	B. Lowe flied out to left.
	9th Inning	Díaz walked, Siri to second, Jackson to third.
	9th Inning	Siri singled to left, Jackson to second.
	9th Inning	Jackson walked.
	9th Inning	Rosario grounded into double play, third to second to first, Palacios out at second.
	9th Inning	Palacios walked.

Statistics

TB		ATL
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
2	Hit By Pitch	0
7	Ground Balls	10
12	Strikeouts	6
2	Runs Batted In	9
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
6	Hits	11
0	Stolen Bases	0
6	Walks	5
0	Catcher Interference	0
2	Runs	9
2	Ground Into Double Play	0
1	Sacrifice Flies	1
29	At Bats	33
1	Home Runs	4
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
17	Runners Left On Base	13
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
1	Doubles	0
11	Fly Balls	18
0	Caught Stealing	0
166	Pitches	151
0	Games Started	0
1	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
10	Total Bases	23
38	Plate Appearances	39
162.0	Projected Home Runs	648.0
2	Extra Base Hits	4
3.9	Runs Created	9.1
.207	Batting Average	.333
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.345	Slugging Percentage	.697
.345	Secondary Average	.515
.368	On Base Percentage	.410
.713	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	1.107
0.6	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.6
4.0	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	10.7
19.0	Batter Rating	59.0
29.0	At Bats Per Home Run	8.3
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
4.37	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.87
.138	Isolated Power	.364
0.50	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.83
.158	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.128
.138	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.182
4.0	Runs Produced	18.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.5	Patience Ratio	0.8
0.3	Balls In Play Average	0.3
72.5	MLB Rating	105.5
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0