Reynaldo Lopez held the Baltimore Orioles to two singles across six innings and the visiting Atlanta Braves finally pieced together a few key hits to snap a season-worst five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win on Thursday afternoon.
Ozzie Albies supplied four hits and Marcell Ozuna drove in two runs as the Braves wrapped up a nine-game road trip with a 3-6 record. Adam Duvall added two hits.
The Orioles’ season-high six-game winning streak came to a close, even though Kyle Stowers drilled a three-run home run and Jordan Westburg had two hits.
Lopez (4-2) walked one and struck out eight while completing six innings in his third straight start.
Pierce Johnson gave up Stowers’ homer. Joe Jimenez, who surrendered Baltimore’s winning home run Wednesday night, worked the eighth and Raisel Iglesias got Ryan Mountcastle to ground out with two runners on base to end the game for his 17th save.
Orioles starter Cole Irvin (6-3) was charged with four runs (three earned) on nine hits across 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Bryan Baker provided 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief.
Singles from Gunnar Henderson and Westburg were all Baltimore could muster until Westburg’s double with one out in the seventh inning, followed by a two-out walk to Cedric Mullins and Stowers’ first home run of the season.
Stowers had three homers in 2022, but he didn’t hit a long ball in 14 games with Baltimore last year or in his first 15 outings this year.
Ozuna smacked a two-run double in the first inning, a big boost for the Braves, who’ve been mired in offensive doldrums.
Albies singled in a run with two outs in the fourth inning for a 3-0 lead. Orlando Arcia’s sixth-inning double made it 4-0, ending a 7-for-50 slump with just his second RBI of the month.
Matt Olson had a run-scoring double in the ninth.
–Field Level Media