Devers homers as Red Sox beat Braves 9-5

BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers homered and drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox stopped Atlanta's four-game win streak with a 9-5 victory over the Braves on Wednesday night.

Hunter Renfroe also connected for Boston, and Christian Vázquez had three RBIs. Xander Bogaerts walked twice and scored three times.

Bogaerts said Devers is locked in.

“He can put a team on his back for weeks and months," he said. "He’s not the type of guy who can just do it for a couple of days. He can ride it for a long time. It’s just a credit to the talent and the work that he puts in.”

Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta (6-0) struck out a season-high nine in six innings, settling down after a shaky start. He was charged with four runs and seven hits.

Boston had dropped two in a row on the heels of a four-game win streak.

Austin Riley homered for Atlanta for the fifth time in his last five games. William Contreras had two hits and two RBIs, including a solo shot in the ninth.

Braves left-hander Drew Smyly (2-3) allowed seven runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He was 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA over his previous three starts.

“I was very efficient with my pitch count, wasn’t walking anybody,” Smyly said. "It’s pretty hard to give up five hits and one walk and seven earned runs, but I accomplished that tonight. So, no, I’m not happy with the results.”

The game was delayed for nearly three hours by rain after the sixth inning.

“We knew what was going on but it was out of the umpires’ hands and the teams, it’s the league,” Boston manager Alex Cora said. “They tell us we have to play, we play. It was tough at the end.”

Atlanta jumped out to a fast start with three runs over the first two innings. Ozzie Albies hit an RBI triple and scored on Dansby...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Devers-homers-as-Red-Sox-beat-Braves-9-5-16206498.php