Braves bash Twins starter Bailey Ober before storm delay and then breeze to 10-6 victory

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Matt Olson hit a three-run homer and a two-run double for Atlanta in the first two innings against Bailey Ober before the game was stopped by a thunderstorm, and the Atlanta Braves beat the sputtering Minnesota Twins 10-6 on Monday night.

Max Fried (8-7) endured the 86-minute delay for his first win since June 23, retiring 12 straight batters over a stretch bridging the rain and finishing five innings with one earned run allowed.

Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-run homer and Marcell Ozuna had two runs and two RBIs for the Braves, who emphatically ended Ober’s streak of 11 straight quality starts with four runs before he recorded an out.

Whit Merrifield, subbing in the leadoff spot for injured Michael Harris II, went 5 for 5 and began the game with a single. Three batters later, Ober (12-6) threw an 0-2 cutter that Olson drove 423 feet into the second deck above right-center field for his 23rd homer.

Olson is well off the 54-home run pace he led baseball with last season, but in his last 16 games he has 17 RBIs, 12 runs, five homers and five doubles.

The severe weather warning sirens started wailing in the middle of the first inning, but unfortunately for Ober the Braves managed to squeeze in five more runs before the downpour began, the napkins and wrappers swirled down from the upper deck, and the grounds crew hustled the tarp onto the infield in the middle of the second.

Ober, who had logged at least six innings and allowed three runs or fewer over his last 11 turns for a 2.09 ERA and eight wins by the Twins, threw 55 pitches and made manager Rocco Baldelli’s decision easy to go to the bullpen after the game resumed.

The 6-foot-9 right-hander, who has blossomed into an ace for a rotation thinned by injuries and now rounded out with three rookies, got two outs in the second inning before the Braves got in some more batting practice with five straight men on base.

Fried gave up two unearned runs in the fifth, before striking out Royce Lewis to end the inning and strand runners at the corners. Having struggled in his return from a forearm injury after the All-Star break, Fried had his second consecutive solid start with seven strikeouts without a walk and only one extra-base hit allowed on a double by Manny Margot to lead off the first.

The resiliency of the Braves (71-60) has been remarkable, considering five of their eight All-Star selections from last year have had their seasons either ended or ruined by injuries, starting with 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr.

Atlanta kept pace with NL East-leading Philadelphia, six games back with its streak of six straight division titles in trouble. The Braves, though, have a three-game lead on the New York Mets for the third and final NL wild card.

The Twins (72-59) actually gained ground on AL Central leader Cleveland despite their sixth loss in the last eight games, because the Guardians (75-57) were swept in a doubleheader by Kansas City. The Royals pulled within one game, and the Twins — who lead Boston by five games for the final AL wild card — are now 2½ games back of Cleveland.

Matt Wallner homered late for the Twins, who started their third straight interleague series and dropped to 16-22 against NL opponents.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: Harris started on the bench with a bruised left hand after being hit by a pitch that forced him out of the game on Sunday, but he entered in the sixth inning.

Twins: RF Max Kepler was on the bench again with left knee soreness that prompted him to be scratched from the lineup Sunday, but an MRI showed no damage, only wear and tear.

“We’re going to need him to play,” Badlelli said, referencing the 31 games remaining in the regular season.

The Braves were scheduled to send RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (5-6, 3.94 ERA) to the mound Tuesday night opposite Twins RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (5-3, 3.69).

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