Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 at Truist Park. Both starters turned in scoreless outings before Atlanta broke through late. Martin Pérez worked seven scoreless innings for the Braves, scattering hits and fanning four over 90 pitches. Nick Martinez matched him for Tampa Bay, throwing 6.1 shutout frames with three strikeouts on 68 pitches. His ERA now sits at 2.92. Pérez carries a 3.08 ERA. Austin Riley opened the eighth-inning rally with a ground-ball single to right that scored Ozzie Albies. Ha-Seong Kim followed with a two-run single to center, plating Riley and Mike Yastrzemski. Victor Mesa Jr. answered with a solo homer to right center in the ninth, his twelfth of the season, but Raisel Iglesias secured the save. Kim finished 2-for-3 with two runs batted in. Riley went 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Mesa was 1-for-1 with his homer and lone RBI. The K model projected higher strikeout totals for both starters. Martinez recorded three strikeouts, Pérez four. The NRFI model leaned neutral, and scoring in the first inning meant that bet lost.