Ozuna hits a home run, and Urshela knocks in three runs as the Atlanta Braves defeat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1
Marcell Ozuna hit a home run, Gio Urshela drove in three runs, and Spencer Schwellenbach pitched six strong innings as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night.
This victory kept the Braves within two games of the Mets and Diamondbacks for the last National League wild card spot.
The Braves have struggled against the Reds this season, holding a 1-4 record against them.
Ozuna hit his 38th home run of the year in the seventh inning off Tony Santillan (2-3), breaking a 1-1 tie with a solo shot. This homer ended a 26-game drought for Ozuna without a home run and a 19-game stretch without an RBI.
Urshela later added two runs with a single while the bases were loaded, extending the lead to 4-1 after the seventh.
In the eighth inning, Michael Harris II also homered, and Ozuna doubled, bringing in Eli White and achieving his 100th RBI of the season.
“It means a lot, you know, after last year, the rough start,” Ozuna said. “All year it has been amazing and special for me. I have the confidence. I come every day to play the game. It is up and down every time in baseball. It is hard. You have to have patience and have fun.”
“I’m happy for him to get that 100th out of the way,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I’ve never experienced that, but I can imagine how guys want to get that. He might go on a tear now that he got that out of the way.”
Urshela added his third RBI with a ground-rule double in the ninth inning.
Schwellenbach (7-7) made his 19th start for the Braves. He allowed just one run on five hits over six innings, striking out five batters and walking two.
“These are the games I want to pitch in,” Schwellenbach said. “I have over 150 innings. I feel like I’ve hit a new wave, I guess.”
In his first year of professional baseball, Schwellenbach pitched only 65 innings. This season, he threw 45 innings in the minors and has now totaled 109 innings in the majors.
Former Atlanta Braves utilityman turned relief pitcher Charlie Culberson has retired from baseball, he announced on his instagram page Thursday. Culberson is famous for his Dansby Swanson looks and providing a stabilizing force in the Atlanta clubhouse. Culberson’s career stat line does not suggest he made much of an on-field impact, but his value to the Braves as a whole cannot be measured in hits, home runs, batting average or RBIs.
Nonetheless, eventually the Braves could no longer justify keeping Culberson on the active roster given his mediocre plate presence. This forced the 35-year-old to take a long look in the mirror, and alter his approach altogether. Culberson made a late-career position change, pitching for the Braves in spring training and eventually Gwinnett.
