May 5, 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Harris gave Atlanta the lead with a two-run triple in the fifth inning that spoiled Jared Koenig's major league debut, and the surging Braves beat the skidding Oakland Athletics 13-2 on Wednesday night.
Ian Anderson pitched six solid innings and the Braves rallied from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight night to sweep the two-game series and extend their season-best winning streak to seven. The A's have lost eight straight and 11 of 13.
The 28-year-old Koenig led 2-1 through four innings after completing his long path to the majors that included spending the 2017-19 seasons in independent leagues. The 6-foot-5 left-hander didn't get an out in the fifth.
After walking Marcell Ozuna, who moved to third on Adam Duvall's double off the left-field wall, Koenig faced Harris in a matchup of rookies. The left-handed-hitting Harris pulled a liner past first baseman Seth Brown into the right-field corner, driving in Ozuna and Duvall to give the Braves a 3-2 lead.
Harris was safe on a headfirst slide into third base. With two outs, Austin Riley's two-run homer off Domingo Acevedo extended the lead to 5-2. William Contreras, Ozzie Albies and Duvall also homered in Atlanta's 13-hit outburst.
Albies' three-run shot, which barely cleared the left-field wall over the glove of a leaping Chad Pinder, and Duvall's two-run drive were the big hits in a seven-run seventh.
Harris added a seventh-inning double, complete with another headfirst slide into second base. He scored on Riley's single for a 7-2 lead.
Anderson (5-3) allowed two runs and six hits.
Koenig (0-1) permitted four runs on five hits and two walks in four-plus innings.
Ramón Laureano doubled and scored on a wild pitch and Sean Murphy had a run-scoring single in Oakland's two-run fourth.
The A's optioned right-hander Domingo Tapia to Triple-A Las Vegas when Koenig was recalled from Las Vegas. Right-hander Gabe Klobosits was designated for assignment.
Koenig became the 20th rookie to play for Oakland this season, one shy of the team record set in 2008.
A's catcher Christian Bethancourt, who popped out in the eighth as a pinch-hitter, remained in the game to pitch mop-up duty in the bottom of the inning. The right-hander got three consecutive outs. He previously pitched a combined six games with San Diego in the 2016-17 seasons.
