ATLANTA — Reynaldo Lopez threw six strong innings and the Atlanta Braves hit four home runs in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Lopez (7-2) lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.71, allowing just 2 hits and walking 3 with 6 strikeouts.
Adam Duvall, Jarred Kelenic and Matt Olson all hit home runs in a five-run second inning off Phillies rookie Michael Mercado, and Eli White added a home run in the sixth inning.
“(The early lead) It allows me the opportunity to not be so fine,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “Once I got that five-run lead, I told myself I would be attacking the zone and be aggressive.”
Mercado (1-1), making just his second career start, didn’t get out of the second inning, lasting just 1 2/3 innings and allowing 5 runs, 5 hits and 3 walks.
Kelenic was 1-for-3 with 3 RBI and Duval was 3-for-4 with a double and a single to go along with his home run. White, who entered the game 0-for-7 since being called up from Triple-A Gwinnett, was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
The Braves have taken two of three in the first two series of the season between the NL East rivals. The teams have seven regular-season games to play. The Phillies have eliminated the Braves in the playoffs the past two postseasons.
BREWERS 9, DODGERS 2 Christian Yelich and Blake Perkins both homered, had three hits and drove in three runs as Milwaukee beat Los Angeles to snap a seven-game losing streak at Dodger Stadium.
CARDINALS 8, NATIONALS 3 Willson Contreras hit his second home run of the series and St. Louis defeated Washington. Contreras hit a line drive 395-foot home run off Nationals reliever Derek Law in the seventh. He also singled and scored twice with three RBI. The two-run shot was his ninth of the season and third home run in the past five days.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, PADRES 1 Eugenio Suarez hit a tiebreaking two-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning and a bases-clearing double in the ninth in Arizona’s victory over San Diego.
METS 3, PIRATES 2 Francisco Lindor hit a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning against Ardolis Chapman for his third hit of the game, rallying New York to a win over Pittsburgh.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 5, MARINERS 4 (10) Daulton Varsho drove in the go-ahead with an RBI single in the top of the 10th inning, as Toronto beat Seattle. Varsho’s base-hit off Mariners reliever Collin Snider (0-1) with two outs drove in automatic runner Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from second base and sent the Blue Jays to a series victory over the Mariners, who have now dropped six consecutive series.
RANGERS 13, RAYS 2 Wyatt Langford and Jonah Heim matched career highs with four hits, Corey Seager had a three-run home run and Texas batted around twice in a rout of Tampa Bay that finished a three-game sweep. Nathan Eovaldi (6-3) allowed 2 runs and 4 hits in 7 innings, improving to 5-0 with a .166 opponents’ batting average at home.
RED SOX 3, YANKEES 0 Rafael Devers homered off rookie Luis Gil (9-5) in the seventh inning and connected again in the ninth, leading Boston over the Yankees and sending New York to its 15th loss in 20 games. Devers has 16 home runs at Yankee Stadium and 28 against New York.
TWINS 3, ASTROS 2 Christian Vazquez led off the ninth inning with a home run to give Minnesota a victory over Houston. Vazquez, who had two hits and drove in all three Twins runs, hit a sinker from Josh Hader (3-5) high and deep to left field for his fourth home run of the season.
INTERLEAGUE
CUBS 5, ANGELS 0 Hayden Wesneski (3-5) threw 6 1/3 innings, Michael Busch hit a two-run home run and the Chicago Cubs shut out the Los Angeles Angels.
GUARDIANS 5, GIANTS 4 Bo Naylor had a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the sixth inning to give Cleveland a win over San Francisco and another home series win for the AL Central leaders.
MARLINS 7, WHITE SOX 4 Jake Burger hit a game-winning three-run home run and Miami scored four times in the ninth to beat the Chicago White Sox. Down to their last strike, the Marlins tied it on Josh Bell’s RBI double off White Sox closer Michael Kopech (2-8). Chicago left fielder Tommy Pham tracked down Bell’s drive but mistimed his leap at the wall that scored Vidal Brujan from third.
ROYALS 10, ROCKIES 1 Maikel Garcia, MJ Melendez and Bobby Witt Jr. homered, Brady Singer (5-5) won for the first time on the road this season and Kansas City beat Colorado to end a three-game losing streak.
TIGERS 5, REDS 1 Tarik Skubal (10-3) struck out a career-high 13 in seven innings, Zach McKinstry hit a two-run home run and Detroit swept a series for the first time since late May, beating Cincinnati.
