ATLANTA BRAVES DROP SEASON SET TO TORONTO BLUE JAYS, NOW OFF TO MILWAUKEE FOR THE WEEKEND; ROME BRAVES SPLIT TWIN BILL WITH GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS

The Atlanta Braves were defeated by the Toronto Blue Jays by a final score of 8-4 on Thursday afternoon in the finale of a three-game interleague set at Truist Park in Atlanta. It allowed Toronto to sweep that series, as well as the season series between the teams by 6-0.

Things looked hopeful early on for the Braves as Ronald Acuna Jr. led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run off of Ross Stripling.

Acuna exited the ballgame in the seventh inning after hurting his ankle; xrays came back negative.

Dansby Swanson had a two-run homer that gave the Braves a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning.

Toronto surged ahead of Atlanta with four runs off of Will Smith in the top of the ninth inning. Smith was tagged with the loss. The Braves’ starting pitcher Charlie Morton gave up three runs and seven hits, walked two, and struck out four in four and two-third innings of work.

Bo Bichette was the offensive leader for the Blue Jays with three runs on two hits. Cavan Biggio drove in a couple of runs, including a game-tying double in the eighth. Travis Bergen was credited with the win in relief.

The Braves will be up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin over the weekend for a three game set against the Brewers. First pitch of tonight’s opener is scheduled for 8:10 pm. The outing will be broadcast on WLAQ 1410 AM and 96.9 FM; air time is 6:55 pm.

And in a minor league update, the Rome Braves split a double header against the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Thursday evening in Greensboro, NC. The Grasshoppers won the opener 7-3, while the Braves won the nighcap 4-1. The teams will meet again tonight at 6:30 pm.