Hot Braves romp over skidding Yankees

NEW YORK — Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer on Carlos Rodón's second pitch of the night, Austin Riley and Matt Olson also went deep off the left-hander, and the Atlanta Braves routed the suddenly struggling New York Yankees, 8-1, on Friday (Saturday in Manila) for their seventh win in eight games.

"It's kind of more of what I think [of] who we are," Braves manager Brian Snitker said after his team improved to 32-31. "It's good to see the guys hung in there and, hopefully, this is a trend that's going to turn around for us."

Chris Sale (10-2) joined Kansas City's Seth Lugo and Philadelphia's Ranger Suárez as the major leagues' only 10-game winners, getting his first victory over the Yankees since 2018.

"Just like we weren't worried when it wasn't going well, we're not going to sit here and throw a party when it is," Sale said.

New York has lost five of six, including three in a row while allowing 32 runs to the Braves and Baltimore, and was in danger of dropping below the Orioles into second place in the AL East. By the end of the fourth inning, the Yankees had given up runs in 13 of 14 innings, including nine in a row — tying a team record from June 16-18, 1940.

Rodón (9-4) lost his second straight start after winning seven in a row. He gave up eight runs — seven earned — in 3 2/3 innings and 11 hits, including seven for extra bases. His ERA has climbed from 2.93 to 3.86 in his last two outings.

He appeared to shout at assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel in the dugout after the top of the first.

Read The Rest at :