Kolby Allard impresses as Braves beat Twins 3-0
The Atlanta Braves moved to 20-4 in June Wednesday with a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Atlanta got going early as Ronald Acuna Jr. drew a walk to lead off the game. He swiped second for his 36th stolen base of the season, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Matt Olson to put the Braves up 1-0.
The Braves added another run in the third as Michael Harris II and Acuña hit back-to-back singles to put runners at first and third. Ozzie Albies delivered a sacrifice-fly which scored Harris to make it 2-0.
While the Braves offense did some early work, Kolby Allard stepped in and was equally impressive. Allard struck out the side in the first. He added another strikeout in the second and two more in the third. He allowed a leadoff double to Byron Buxton in the fourth, but pitched out of it as Austin Riley nabbed Buxton at the plate on a grounder by Kyle Farmer.
Allard allowed a single to Alex Kirilloff and a walk to Christian Vazquez to start the fifth. He then came back and struck out Michael A. Taylor and Joey Gallo. He would then give way to Kirby Yates, who struck out Donovan Solano to end the inning.
It was an impressive showing for Allard who made just two rehab appearances at Gwinnett following a three-month stint on the injured list with an oblique injury. He allowed three hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out eight and issued just one walk while throwing 71 pitches.
Yates stayed in and added two more strikeouts in a scoreless sixth. A.J. Minter and Joe Jimenez worked perfect innings in the seventh and eighth.
Atlanta added an insurance run in the eighth as Olson smashed his 26th homer of the year to push the lead to 3-0.
Matty O to the moon pic.twitter.com/P4ithEpME5 — Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) June 28, 2023
Railes Iglesias closed it out in the ninth adding two more strikeouts. Atlanta pitchers finished the game with 14 strikeouts. Olson and Harris finished the game with two hits each while Acuña reached base three times.
With the win, the Braves improve to 53-27 for the season. They will enjoy an off day Thursday before beginning a three-game series against the Miami Marlins Friday.
Source: Battery Power
