ATLANTA (AP) — Drake Baldwin drove in four runs with a pair of two-out hits, Chris Sale pitched one-hit ball over six innings and the Atlanta Braves wrapped up their season-opening homestand with a 5-1 victory over the struggling Athletics on Wednesday.
Baldwin had a two-run single off Athletics starter Luis Severino (0-1) in the second and added a two-run double in the fourth to give Sale (2-0) some breathing room after Shea Langeliers hit his fifth homer of the season — the lone base-runner allowed by the Atlanta left-hander.
Baldwin's two-bagger came after he fouled off four straight 3-2 pitches from Elvis Alvarado, prompting the organist to belt out “Stayin’ Alive.”
Finally, on the 11th pitch of the at-bat, the reigning NL rookie of the year lined a 97 mph fastball to the wall in right-center. Matt Olson followed with a seeing-eye single up the middle to bring home Baldwin.
Baldwin nearly had a homer in the seventh, but Athletics center fielder Denzel Clarke leaped above the wall to make a dazzling catch.
It was another strong outing for Sale, who threw six scoreless innings against Kansas City on opening night. Two days after his 37th birthday, he pushed the Braves to a 4-2 mark through the first week. A year ago, Atlanta lost its first seven games on the road and went on to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The Athletics can relate, having started the season with just one win through their first six games. Langeliers has been one of the few bright spots, grabbing the MLB home run lead with his towering, 355-foot drive that barely cleared the left-field wall.
Severino struggled with his control, walking five and throwing just 49 of his 91 pitches for strikes before he was lifted after 3 1/3 innings.
Athletics: LH Jeffrey Springs (0-0, 3.38 ERA) takes the mound Friday night for the home opener against the Astros.
Braves: RH Reynaldo López (0-0, 1.50) gets his second start Thursday night at Arizona to begin a four-game series and Atlanta's first road trip of the season.
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