NEW YORK — Michael Harris II opened the 10th inning with an RBI single, and Tyler Kinley made sure the lead held up as the Atlanta Braves beat the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon, 2-1, to avoid being swept in a three-game interleague series that was tight from start to finish.
Atlanta came to Yankee Stadium on a season-high eight-game winning streak, but New York rallied from two down with two outs in the ninth inning Friday night to win the series opener 3-2 in 10 innings, then held on for a 5-4 victory Saturday. With their win in the finale, the Braves improved to 70-47 overall this season and protected their 8 1/2-game lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East Division.
The Yankees (66-52), who are second in the American League East and 5 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, fell to 2-9 in extra-inning games this year. Atlanta is 5-6 in such contests.
“It’s three good games, good series, well-pitched,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said in his postgame press conference. “We basically came in here and faced three No. 1’s, really, three aces. Tight games, but well-played.”
Matt Olson homered off Cam Schlittler’s 100 mph fastball to give the Braves the lead in the seventh. Trent Grisham hit a tying homer in the eighth off Didier Fuentes before Atlanta regained its scoreboard advantage against Paul Blackburn (3-2).