ATLANTA (AP) — Jorge Mateo had four hits, Dominic Smith launched a two-run homer and Chris Sale cruised to his third win of the season as the Atlanta Braves pounded the Cleveland Guardians 13-1 on Sunday night.
Atlanta took two of three games from the Guardians and is the only team yet to lose a series this season (4-0-1). The Braves, who got 19 hits, lead the NL East by two games.
Sale (3-1) gave up a season-high eight hits in six innings but allowed just a homer by Rhys Hoskins leading off the sixth with the Braves in front 9-0. The ace left-hander threw 97 pitches. He struck out six, walked one and stranded seven runners before Dylan Dodd worked three innings for his first career save.
Cleveland had been 4-0 against lefties this season.
Mateo went 4 for 4 and scored twice. Ozzie Albies and Mauricio Dubón each had three hits for the Braves.
Dubón was in center field for the second straight game in place of Michael Harris II, who is on paternity leave. Braves manager Walt Weiss said Harris might be back Monday.
Ronald Acuña Jr. was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a stolen base. Matt Olson and Austin Riley also had two hits apiece.
Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (0-2) gave up eight runs and 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings. The eight runs allowed were a career high for the right-hander, who has made 91 starts over four years with the Guardians.
Cleveland rookie Chase DeLauter was 2 for 2 with a walk against Sale and raised his batting average to .300.
The game was held on the 60th anniversary of the Braves' first game in Atlanta.
Guardians: RHP Gavin Williams (1-1, 2.04 ERA) will oppose Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (0-0, 3.38) in the first of a three-game series in St. Louis on Monday.
Braves: RHP Grant Holmes (1-1, 2.55 ERA) faces Marlins RHP Eury Pérez (1-1, 5.06) in the opener of a three-game set in Atlanta on Monday.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.