The Atlanta Braves concluded a seven game homestand on Sunday afternoon with a loss to the Houston Astros 5-4 in the finale of a three-game interleague set at Truist Park. That denied a sweep of the series among last year’s World Series opponents for the Braves, who went 5-2 on the homestand and are now four games back from the National League East-leading New York Mets.
Atlanta struck first with a two-run homer by Matt Olson during the bottom of the first inning.
The Astros evened the score at 2-2 on a two-run single by Yordan Alvarez in the top of the third and took the lead on an RBI single by Kyle Tucker in the eighth. They made it 5-2 on a sac fly by Jeremy Pena in the eighth and RBI single from Yuli Gurriel in the ninth. The defending World Series champion Braves came within a run of their visitors with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI triple by Travis d’Arnaud and a ground out from Vaughn Grissom. But the Astros held on for the win, again, by the final score of 5-4.
Dylan Lee took the loss for Atlanta. Starting pitcher Charlie Morton gave up a pair of runs and five hits, walked two, and struck out 11 over six innings of work. Jose Urquidy was credited with the win, while Ryan Pressly picked up the save for Houston.
The Braves are now 75-48 on the 2022 season. They will open up a six-game road trip tonight with the first of three games in Pittsburgh versus the Pirates. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm. Listen on WLAQ 1410 AM or 96.9 FM; air time is 5:50 pm.