ATLANTA — Ozzie Albies had three hits and three RBIs, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on Thursday night to give 20-year-old rookie AJ Smith-Shawver his first major league win.
Smith-Shawver (1-0) gave up three runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings in his second career start. He struck out six, walked one and allowed two solo homers.
Kevin Pillar went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Sean Murphy added three hits and two runs for the first-place Braves, who have won nine of 11.
Michael Tonkin struck out six in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Braves.
Kyle Freeland (4-8) gave up seven runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Albies batted second for the first time this season and responded with a three-run double in the second inning that gave the Braves a 5-1 lead. He had three hits off Freeland, raising his average against lefties this year to .418.
Rockies catcher Elias Díaz homered onto the Hank Aaron Terrace in left field in the second, and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar led off the fourth with a home run to left-center.
Atlanta took the lead for good with a five-run second inning. Pillar drove in Murphy and Matt Olson with a two-run double. After Orlando Arcia and Ronald Acuña Jr. walked, Albies cleared the bases with a double to left field.
A sacrifice fly by Acuña scored Arcia in the fourth, and a sacrifice fly by Marcell Ozuna knocked in Murphy in the fifth. Olson added his team-leading 19th home run in the seventh off Pierce Johnson.
UP NEXT
Rockies RHP Dinelson Lamet (1-3, 10.38 ERA) faces Braves LHP Jared Shuster (3-2, 5.05) on Friday night.
