ATLANTA – Don’t ask Dansby Swanson how many home runs he can hit this season.
The Atlanta Braves shortstop insists he isn’t keeping count.
Swanson homered, drove in three runs and scored the tiebreaker on Freddie Freeman’s double in the eighth inning Sunday as the Braves beat the Detroit Tigers 7-4.
Swanson, who hit 14 homers last season, already has 12 this year. He shook his head when asked if he could hit 25 in 2019.
“I’ve never cared about that before,” the 25-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick said, “and I’m not going to start now.”
Atlanta took two of three from the Tigers for its first home interleague series win since also winning two of three against Detroit in 2016. Atlanta was 0-5-3 in its eight home series against American League teams in between the Tigers’ visits.
Braves starter Julio Teheran pitched five scoreless innings Sunday and left with a 3-0 lead. The Tigers pulled even in the eighth with back-to-back homers to left field off Jacob Webb – a two-run shot by Grayson Greiner and a tying liner by JaCoby Jones. Christin Stewart added a ninth-inning homer off Braves closer Luke Jackson for the game’s final margin.
It was 3-all when Swanson drew a one-out walk from Joe Jiménez (2-3) in the eighth. Swanson came home when Freeman lined the 299th double of his MLB career into the right-field corner, putting the Braves ahead for good.
“Swanson was kind of terrorizing us all day offensively,” Greiner said. “He worked a good walk there.”
Freeman said he was confident Swanson could score from first.
“I hooked it, so with Dansby’s speed I knew it,” Freeman said.
After walking Josh Donaldson, Jiménez fielded Austin Riley’s grounder before making a wild throw toward second base that sailed into center field for an error, allowing Freeman to score. Donaldson scored on Ozzie Albies’ deep flyout to center field, and pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson’s triple to center drove in Riley.
Offseason wrist surgery has allowed Swanson to swing without pain. After Teheran hit a one-out double and went to third on a wild pitch with two outs in the third, Swanson pulled a fastball from Boyd into the left-field seats for a 2-0 lead.
Boyd entered the game with a streak of 12 scoreless innings over two starts before giving up three runs on five hits. The left-hander struck out nine in five innings.
Atlanta’s Touki Toussaint (3-0) recorded one out in the eighth to earn the win.
The Tigers committed three errors in the game.
“We missed plays again today, which kind of cost us,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Braves leadoff hitter Ronald Acuña Jr. was a target for wild throws in the first. He was safe on an infield single when Brandon Dixon’s throw from third base hit one of his shoulders, and Acuña flexed the shoulder but remained in the game. He was hit again on his back by Boyd’s errant pickoff attempt and advanced to second before Boyd struck out the side.
Braves bench coach Walt Weiss filled in for manager Brian Snitker, who felt sick before the game and left the dugout to be examined by trainers. Snitker, 63, didn’t return, and the Braves released no information on his status.
“I’m hoping he bounces back quickly,” Weiss said, referring to Snitker as “an old war horse.”
Braves right fielder Nick Markakis didn’t start but grounded out in the seventh as a pinch-hitter. He has appeared in 225 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors.