DENVER (AP) — Darius Vines pitched six strong innings to win in his major league debut and Marcell Ozuna homered for the second time in as many games as the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 7-3 on Wednesday night to complete a season sweep.
Kevin Pillar and Orlando Arcia also homered for the Braves, who finished 7-0 against the Rockies for their third season sweep of Colorado. Atlanta outscored Colorado 64-20 over the season sweep.
The Braves went 6-0 against Colorado in 2003 and 13-0 in 1993, the first year of the Rockies’ existence. Atlanta has won its last eight game at Coors Field against the Rockies, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games. The Braves are a major league-best 87-45, and have won 17 of their last 22.
Alan Trejo homered for Colorado off reliever Michael Tonkin in the bottom of the seventh. Nolan Jones doubled twice, the first dropping in right-center in the bottom of the fourth when Ronald Acuña Jr. appeared to lose the ball in the lights. An inning later with a Rockies’ baserunner at second, Acuña made a sensational sliding catch on a fly ball by Ezequiel Tovar, saving a run and ending the inning.
Vines (1-0), called up earlier this week from Triple-A Gwinnett, retired the first seven batters he faced before issuing a one-out walk in the third to Trejo. He fanned Brenton Doyle before hitting Charlie Blackmon with a pitch and giving up his first hit, an RBI single by Tovar.
Vines allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked one in an outing that bolstered the back end of Atlanta’s rotation.
The Braves struck for two runs in the top of the fourth, taking a 3-1 lead with the help of a throwing error by shortstop Tovar. He threw wide of second base trying to get a force-out, allowing Austin Riley to come around from second to score. Travis d’Arnaud pushed across the other run with an RBI groundout.
They broke the game open with a four-run sixth featuring Ozuna’s solo shot and Arcia’s two-run drive, both off Kyle Freeland (5-14), who also surrendered Pillar’s homer leading off the third.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: RHP Chase Anderson worked three scoreless innings in a rehab outing at Triple A Albuquerque on Tuesday night. He went on the 15-day injured list because of right shoulder inflammation in late July. … 2B Brendan Rodgers missed a third consecutive game due to illness.
UP NEXT
Braves: Play the first of four games on Thursday at the Los Angeles Dodgers in a series featuring the division leaders in the NL East and NL West. Braves RHP Spencer Strider (15-4, 3.46 ERA) is slated to start the series opener against RHP Lance Lynn (10-9, 5.56).
Rockies: Following an off day on Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays come to town for a three-game series with Colorado right-hander Chris Flexen (1-6, 6.94) scheduled to start the series opener against Toronto LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu (3-1, 2.25).
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