BALTIMORE – The Atlanta Braves can’t seem to lose on the road these days. The Baltimore Orioles can’t seem to win anywhere.
One team is at the top of its division, the other team is at the bottom of its division, and the first two games of their weekend interleague series have gone as one might have expected.
Austin Riley put the Braves ahead for good with a home run in the fifth inning, and the National League East leaders stretched their winning streak to eight games by beating the struggling Orioles 5-4 on Saturday night.
Joc Pederson also homered for the Braves, who have won 15 of their past 17 games. Atlanta has peeled off 12 straight road wins, a single-season franchise record and the longest such run in Major League Baseball since the Cleveland Indians won 14 in a row away from home in 2017.
A victory in the series finale Sunday would complete a 9-0 swing through Washington, Miami and Baltimore.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of anything like that,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “It would be great to come out and put a nice cap on this road trip.”
The Braves overcame four solo home runs by Baltimore, including two by Anthony Santander. The Orioles have lost 17 straight games, their second-longest skid since the team came to Baltimore in 1954, behind the 0-21 start to the 1988 season.
Jorge Soler’s sacrifice fly put Atlanta up 5-3 in the top of the ninth, and the insurance run proved to be decisive after Santander connected in the bottom half of the inning.
“Huge, big run,” Snitker said.
The Orioles, 37 games out of first place in the American League East, have been outscored 146-46 since their most recent victory on Aug 2. Saturday marked the first time Baltimore lost by only one run during its skid.
“We played well tonight,” Orioles starter Matt Harvey said. “Unfortunately, they came out on top. They just happened to beat us.”
Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urias also went deep for the Orioles, who were locked in a tie game before Riley hit his 27th homer of the season, doing so off Harvey (6-13) for a 4-3 lead.
“I made a couple mistakes that cost us the game,” said Harvey, who allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings. “Other than that, I pitched pretty well.”
Baltimore hit three homers off Atlanta starter Drew Smyly (9-3), who struck out eight batters in five innings. The veteran left-hander is 7-0 in 14 starts since April 30.
“He threw the ball really well,” Snitker said. “Good for him, he picked up the win.”
Atlanta reliever Luke Jackson struck out Pedro Severino with runners at the corners in the eighth before Will Smith worked the ninth, earning his 27th save of the year despite allowing Santander’s second homer of the game.
After Mountcastle homered in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, Baltimore savored the rare sensation of playing with a lead until the third. Harvey issued a walk and hit a batter before Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson doubled in two runs to make it 2-1.
Pederson led off the fourth with a towering shot to center field, his fourth home run since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 15. Santander and Urias hit successive homers in the bottom half to tie it at 3.
Santander returned to the starting lineup after taking the day off with a sore ankle that might be a concern right up to the end of the season.
“It’s disappointing for him,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “It’s one of these things that’s been lingering all season, and it’s not probably going to get right until he gets a significant amount of time off.”
Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud was placed on paternity leave Saturday, one day after signing a two-year, $16 million extension with a club option for 2024. D’Arnaud celebrated the deal with a home run in Atlanta’s 3-0 victory Friday night.
Catcher William Contreras was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and will likely start Sunday, Snitker said.
Touki Toussaint (2-2, 4.01 ERA) will start on the mound for Atlanta in the series finale. The Orioles will counter with John Means (5-5, 3.44 ERA), who threw a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners earlier this season but has allowed a total of 13 runs and 16 hits in his past two starts.
Struggling Orioles starter Jorge López has been sent to the bullpen to iron out some of the problems that contributed to his 3-14 record and 6.35 ERA. The decision was made after two starts in which he yielded a combined 11 runs, 13 hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings.
“Just trying something different a little bit,” Hyde said. “We’re not closing the door on him being in the rotation, but we’d like to see what it looks like coming out of the pen. He’s gone through a lot, and this might take some of the pressure off him.”
López leads the majors in losses. He pitched six innings of one-hit ball against the New York Yankees on Aug. 2, but that was an isolated gem during a season in which the right-hander has allowed at least four runs in 11 of his 25 starts.