Freddie Freeman’s two-run home run in the third gave the Braves a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, as Atlanta received a solid start from Matt Wisler and defeated the Reds, 7-2, on Thursday to split the four-game series at Turner Field.
“It’s huge,” Freeman said. “Definitely when you’re at home you want to go out and win again, and Matt really picked us up today and gave us 6 2/3 of strong baseball.”
Cincinnati jumped out to a first-inning lead for the third time during the series when Brandon Phillips drove in Zack Cozart with an RBI single. The Reds stretched their lead to 2-0 in the third, as Adam Duvall hit his 19th home run of the season.
Chase d’Arnaud led off the bottom of the third with a double down the left-field line and later scored the Braves’ first run of the game on Mallex Smith’s RBI single. Two batters later, Freeman blasted his third homer of the series to hand his team a 3-2 lead.
“Whoever else is coming into town or wherever they’re going, they might be in trouble because he’s some kind of hot right now and we couldn’t figure him out,” Reds manager Bryan Price said of Freeman. “We thought we had a bead on him, and he’s warm — he’s more than warm, he’s real hot.”
Atlanta chased Dan Straily during a three-run fifth inning and added one more run in the seventh, as Wisler shook off the seventh home run he’s surrendered over his past three starts and earned his first win at Turner Field since beating the Cardinals on Oct. 4, 2015.
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