In a rain-soaked series opener on Monday night in Minneapolis, Matt Olson went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, and five RBIs, and the Atlanta Braves pulled away to defeat the Minnesota Twins 10-6.
With Whit Merrifield going 5-for-5, Atlanta won for the seventh time in its previous nine games. A two-run home run was added by Travis d’Arnaud. Minnesota lost its second straight game despite solo home runs from Kyle Farmer and Matt Wallner. Manuel Margot had a double and an RBI while going 3-for-5. Max Fried (8-7) of the Braves won his 70th game in his career.
In five innings, he struck out seven, walked none, and gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits. Bailey Ober (12-6) of the Twins gave up seven hits and nine runs in two innings pitched. His run of eleven straight excellent starts came to an end as he walked two and struck out two. With the Twins behind 9-1 in the bottom of the second inning, the game was postponed due to rain. With four runs in the opening inning, the Braves made a big impact on the scoreboard. Marcell Ozuna opened the scoring with an RBI single, then Olson hit his 23rd home run of the season in the following at-bat with a three-run blast.
Jose Miranda’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first inning allowed Minnesota to close the gap to 4-1. In the second inning against Ober, the Braves scored five more runs. Olson hammered a two-run double to right, Ozuna delivered an RBI double to left field, and d’Arnaud delivered the game-winning two-run home run to left. The Twins scored twice in the fifth to cut the deficit to 9-3 following the protracted rain delay. Willi Castro was driven in by Austin Martin’s infield single, and Wallner was scored by Margot’s RBI single to left. In the sixth inning, Orlando Arcia scored on a wild pitch, giving Atlanta a 10-3 lead. The Twins’ lead was reduced to six when Royce Lewis hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. With the game already decided, Farmer and Wallner each added solo home runs in the eighth and ninth innings.
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