Braves’ Strider to Pitch Against Sears of the Athletics in Series Finale

WEST SACRAMENTO: After a day of rest, Ronald Acuna Jr. made a triumphant return, hitting two home runs, while Drake Baldwin added a three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Oakland Athletics 9–2 on Wednesday.

Acuna started strong with a leadoff homer in the first inning, marking his 22nd of the season. In the fourth, he added his 23rd homer with another solo shot.

This was Acuna’s 14th game with multiple home runs, his first since experiencing back tightness that sidelined him on Tuesday.

Baldwin increased Atlanta’s lead in the first with a three-run homer to right center against Oakland’s starting pitcher, Mitch Spence, making the score 4–0. Spence struggled through six innings, allowing eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits.

Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna also homered against Spence. Riley’s solo homer in the third extended the lead to 5–0, and Ozuna’s two-run homer in the fifth made it 7–0.

Braves’ right-hander Bryce Elder earned his first victory since May 4, pitching six and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on six hits, and striking out seven. Elder and the Atlanta bullpen prevented Oakland from scoring with runners in scoring position in the later innings.

Atlanta’s offense continued to build in the seventh. Matt Olson scored three times, including once on a walk, and later on a double by Jurickson Profar, completing the Braves’ nine-run performance.

Oakland scored only twice off RBI groundouts, one by Lawrence Butler in the third and another by Gio Urshela in the sixth. This loss marks the A’s fourth in their last six games.

The series will conclude on Thursday with Spencer Strider of the Braves pitching against JP Sears of Oakland in the final game. The teams have each won one of the first two games in this three-game series.