CINCINNATI - Kyle Muller pitched to the first win of his MLB career, and Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley homered as the Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 on Sunday to split a four-game series.
Muller (1-1), who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game, retired the first seven batters he faced and cruised through five scoreless innings, allowing one hit with a career-high nine strikeouts.
The 23-year-old Texan's breakthrough came in his second start and third career appearance.
"It makes me feel like a big leaguer," said Muller, a Dallas native who was a first-round draft pick in 2016. "It's really, really cool. Anyone coming into the big leagues is looking to have success early. Just knowing your stuff plays, it's a big confidence boost."
Five relievers followed Muller, with only Shane Greene allowing a hit, to complete the two-hitter. Ender Inciarte's catch against the wall in center field robbed Joey Votto of an extra-base hit off Greene in the eighth.
"Muller made a lot of good pitches," Reds manager David Bell said. "He threw a lot of 3-2 breaking balls. We went deep into counts and almost broke through a few times."
The Braves went 8-for-53 with runners in scoring position in the series, but a pair of two-out RBI singles by Acuña and Freddie Freeman got them on the board in the third.
Acuña's solo home run to center, his 21st of the season, made it 3-0 in the fifth. Riley led off the sixth with his 13th homer of the season but his first since June 13.
Acuña's shot came after Cincinnati starter Tyler Mahle knocked him down with a four-seam fastball that rode up and in and struck his bat as he turned to avoid getting hit. Acuña then crushed the right-hander's 3-1 pitch deep to center.
"It motivated me," Acuña said through a translator. "The mentality becomes: There's no way I'm not going to get a hit this at-bat."
The struggles continued at Great American Ball Park for Mahle (7-3), who came in with a 6.93 ERA in five starts at home and a 2.01 ERA on the road. He gave up four runs on six hits in six innings, walking one batter and striking out seven, and was outshined by the rookie Muller.
"He used his secondary pitches to get himself ahead in counts," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "He was aggressive, had unbelievable pace."
The Reds had runners on second and third in the third inning, but Muller struck out Votto to end the threat. Muller pounded his fist in his glove as he came off the mound.
"That was a big inning for me, more mentally than physically," Muller said. "Striking out a guy like that with runners on second and third, that was huge for me. I just needed to relax and make my pitches."