Braves beat Yankees, pitch shutout for third time in six games

Elder was excellent, allowing just one hit over seven scoreless frames. He also induced three double plays. It was a timely rebound for the All-Star as he tries to stabilize during an up-and-down second half.

“I was very pleased with it,” Elder said. “It was good to get one like that.” It was the second time in nine starts that Elder completed seven innings. Even with Tuesday’s performance, he owns a 5.05 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break. Elder had a 2.97 ERA in 18 starts during the first half.

“The past couple weeks, I would almost out-groove my groove,” Elder said. “I don’t want to call it lose focus, but it was like, I’d get a couple ground balls and next thing I knew I’d walk a guy and I was down 2-0. It was just happening quick. So tonight, even though I walked a few, I thought they were walks in good spots and I managed them well.”

The Yankees hit more Braves batters (two) and committed more errors (two) than they had base hits (one). Braves relievers A.J. Minter and Kirby Yates followed Elder and pitched two scoreless innings.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

2. Yankees starter Luis Severino has struggled mightily this season, making the Braves’ historically explosive offense quite the poor matchup. They jumped on Severino early, striking with Marcell Ozuna’s three-run homer in the first.

The Braves lead the majors with 120 first-inning runs. Severino has allowed 23 earned runs in 14 first innings (14.79 ERA).

“We’ve been working every day and every time we come to the stadium, we come ready for battling,” Ozuna said. “No matter who pitches, no matter which team, we come in ready to battle every single at-bat.”

3. Ozuna reached base four times Tuesday, going 2-for-2 with two walks. He extended his season-best hitting streak to 13 games, going 16-for-48 (.333) over that time. Since his dreadful April, Ozuna has turned his campaign around. Even with his numbers dipping in July, he’s enjoyed August with a .291/.381/.491 line.

“He’s a guy who’s hung with himself,” manager Brian Snitker said. “The adversities, not going the way he knew he was capable of, but he kept a great attitude. Very positive. He’s out there hitting early all the time. Never doubted himself. Now he’s quietly having a pretty good year.”

4. Outfielder Ronald Acuña blasted a two-run shot in the fourth inning, his 27th home run of the season. He’s also stolen 55 bases.

It seems a near certainty Acuña, if he stays healthy, will earn a 30-60 season, perhaps something even greater. He remains the frontrunner for National League MVP, even with one teammate – Matt Olson – and one former teammate – Freddie Freeman – having seasons worthy of the same consideration.

“We already know what (Acuña) can do and what he’s been doing through the years,” Ozuna said. “We don’t have any surprises with him. We know he can do this every single season. He’s an amazing player.”

5. Maybe New York should call the Avengers after seeing what the Braves have done to their teams. Right after taking three of four in Queens against the lowly Mets, the Braves are positioned to potentially sweep the Yankees – and drop MLB’s most famous franchise below .500 in doing so. That’s rare August territory for the Yankees, a club that hasn’t finished with a losing record since 1992.

During this six-game stretch, the Braves are 5-1 while outscoring the New York teams 56-13. They’ve pitched three shutouts over that time. This could be the first time the Yankees and Mets finish in last place in their divisions in the same season.

Stat to know

1 -- This was the Braves’ first one-hit shutout since Julio Teheran’s complete game on June 19, 2016 against the Mets.

Quotable

“We’ll see if (Acuña) wins it or Matt Olson wins it. We don’t know. It’s a battle on the same team.” – Ozuna on the NL MVP race

Up next

The Braves and Yankees finish their series Wednesday. Charlie Morton (11-10, 3.71) will start for the Braves.