ATLANTA (AP) — Right-hander Logan Gilbert recovered from a rocky first inning to retire 15 consecutive hitters, Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run homer, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3 on Saturday night.
Gilbert (2-2) gave up three consecutive hits, including Matt Olson’s two-run homer, to open the game. Gilbert also issued his only walk in the first inning but didn’t give up another hit until Austin Riley singled to right field with two outs in the sixth.
Gilbert allowed two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts in six innings.
J.P. Crawford had two hits, including a run-scoring single in Seattle’s three-run fourth.
Olson’s homer to center field drove in Ronald Acuña Jr., who led off the game with a single up the middle.
Gilbert regrouped with a dominant stretch of five scoreless innings as the Mariners’ offense chipped away at Atlanta’s collection of relievers who followed opener Jesse Chavez in the bullpen game. Taylor Trammell drove in a run with a single off Michael Tonkin (3-2) in the fourth.
Teoscar Hernández’s single drove in Jarred Kelenic in the fifth for a 5-2 lead. Suárez, who drove in three runs on two hits, added his fifth homer off Kirby Yates in the seventh to stretch the lead to five runs.
Olson leads the Braves with 13 homers, including blasts in each of the first two games of the series with Seattle.
Tonkin, Atlanta’s second pitcher, allowed five runs, only two earned, on six hits and two walks in two innings. The Braves committed three errors, including two by Acuña, one fielding and one throwing.
Jesse Chavez was effective as Atlanta’s opener, allowing one hit in 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Braves are attempting to compensate for a depleted rotation during the team’s stretch of 13 consecutive games before their next off day on June 1. If the bullpen is stressed during that stretch, the Braves may have to make other roster moves to overcome the losses of LHP Max Fried (strained left forearm) and RHP Kyle Wright (right shoulder inflammation) to the injured list.
“It’s going to be determined by the starts with the other guys,” manager Brian Snitker said before the game.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Fried is lifting weights two weeks after being placed on the injured list. There is no indication the update impacts initial projections that Fried is expected to miss about two months. “He’s going to be in great shape when he comes back,” Snitker said.
UP NEXT
Braves LHP Jared Shuster (0-2, 7.24 ERA) will look for his first win in Sunday’s final game of the series against Mariners RHP George Kirby (5-2, 2.45).
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