ATLANTA (AP) — Reynaldo López set a season high with eight strikeouts, Jarred Kelenic hit a two-run double and the Atlanta Braves beat Oakland 4-2 on Friday night, giving the Athletics their third straight loss.
López (3-2) raised both arms as he walked off the mound after closing the sixth with two strikeouts. The right-hander allowed only four hits and one run in six innings. Given an extra day’s rest before the start, López was still strong in his final inning.
“I feel healthy, I feel strong,” López said through a translator. “I think I just felt good about being able to hold them there.”
López also said Kelenic’s two-run double in the second put him in a mood to celebrate.
“It was somewhat of a celebration we were able to get some runs early,” López said.
With one out in the second, Michael Harris II singled to right field against JP Sears (4-4), who then walked former Oakland teammate Sean Murphy. Kelenic lined a double off the base of the wall in left-center, driving in both runners for a 3-0 lead.
It was an important at-bat for Kelenic, who had hit only .226 in May and had only 10 RBIs for the season. Kelenic had been platooning with Adam Duvall in left field before reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
