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Braves finally beat Reds but gain no ground in playoff chase

AP photo by Jay LaPrete / With his foot on the bag, Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson track the ball on a teammate's throw before making the catch for a forceout of the Cincinnati Reds' Ty France during the second inning of Wednesday night's game at Great American Ball Park.
AP photo by Jay LaPrete / With his foot on the bag, Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson track the ball on a teammate's throw before making the catch for a forceout of the Cincinnati Reds' Ty France during the second inning of Wednesday night's game at Great American Ball Park. AP photo by Jay LaPrete / With his foot on the bag, Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson track the ball on a teammate's throw before making the catch for a forceout of the Cincinnati Reds' Ty France during the second inning of Wednesday night's game at Great American Ball Park.

By The Associated Press 4 min read

CINCINNATI — On their fifth try, the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds for the first time this season.

The New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals for the third day in a row, though, and the Arizona Diamondbacks topped the Colorado Rockies after back-to-back losses in Denver, keeping the Braves from gaining ground in their push for a playoff spot.

Atlanta designated hitter Marcell Ozuna homered, third baseman Gio Urshela drove in three runs while batting ninth in the lineup, and rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach pitched six innings of one-run ball as the Braves beat the Reds 7-1 on Wednesday night.

The victory allowed Atlanta to stay within two games of the Diamondbacks and Mets for the final wild-card spot in the National League postseason picture with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.

In the seventh inning, Ozuna greeted Tony Santillan (2-3) with his 38th home run of the season, a solo shot that broke a 1-1 tie. The blast ended Ozuna’s home run drought at 26 games and his RBI drought at 19 games. Urshela drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single, pushing the lead to 4-1 after seven.