Marcell Ozuna led off the sixth inning with a tiebreaking home run, lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 win over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a three-game series.
The victory allowed the Braves to cut the Phillies’ lead in the National League East to six games. Atlanta has won five of seven against Philadelphia this year.
Ozuna struck out in his first two at-bats against Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler, giving him 19 strikeouts and a .180 average in 50 at-bats against the right-hander. However, in a 1-1 game in the sixth inning, he hit a fastball 432 feet to straightaway center field for his second career homer against Wheeler.
Wheeler (12-6) pitched six innings and allowed two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. He was shooting for his 100th career win.
Atlanta starter Reynaldo Lopez returned from spending three weeks on the injured list and threw five innings. The right-hander, who had been sidelined due to a forearm injury, allowed one run on five hits and one walk with a season-high 10 strikeouts.
The Braves’ bullpen closed the game with four perfect innings. Grant Holmes (2-0) pitched two innings and struck out two win. Joe Jimenez worked the eighth, and Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth to earn his 27th save.
Atlanta pitchers retired the final 17 batters faced. The Phillies did not have a baserunner after the fourth inning.
The Braves opened the scoring in the third inning. Whit Merrifield, picked up on July 22 after being released by Philadelphia, tripled off the right field wall and scored on a sharp single by Michael Harris II.
Philadelphia tied the game in the fourth inning. Alec Bohm, who extended his major-league-best active streak of reaching base to 36 games with a second-inning single, started the fourth with a single. He scored on J.T. Realmuto’s one-out single.
Atlanta placed third baseman on the injured list with a fractured right hand and signed nine-year veteran Gio Urshela off waivers. Urshela went 0-for-3 but drew a bases-loaded walk against reliever Jose Alvarado to push across an insurance run in the eighth.