ATLANTA — The only two times the Atlanta Braves have been above .500 this season came after road wins against the Boston Red Sox for a series victory in a three-game set at Fenway Park during mid-May.
Two weeks later, the Red Sox won two of three at Atlanta’s Truist Park, furthering the frustrating stretch the Braves have endured since that weekend of winning record hope.
Trevor Story had a three-run double in the first inning and left-hander Garrett Crochet struck out 12 batters in seven innings of one-run ball Sunday afternoon, leading the Red Sox to a 3-1 win as the Braves took their fourth straight series loss.
Atlanta is 27-31 and sits fourth of five teams in the National League East standings, 9 1/2 games behind the division-leading New York Mets. The Braves won 4-2 at Boston on May 16 to get to 23-22, lost 7-6 the next day to fall back to .500, then won 10-4 at Boston on May 18 to get to 24-23. Four days later, they were again below .500, which is where they’ve spent most of a season they started 0-7.
The Red Sox (29-32), fourth in the American League East, bounced back Sunday from a 5-0 loss less than 24 hours earlier — they were shut out for the first time this season — as Atlanta regressed to the lack of offensive production that led to a 5-1 loss Friday night.
Marcell Ozuna accounted for Atlanta’s only run in the finale with a solo home run in the first inning. It was his 10th home run of the season.
The Braves threatened in the bottom of the fourth when Matt Olson hit a leadoff double and moved to third on Ozzie Albies’ single with no outs. Crochet retired the next three batters in order.
Story went 2-for-3 in the finale and just missed a grand slam in the first inning when he hit a 1-0 pitch from Bryce Elder 413 feet off the top of the wall in center field, driving in Boston’s only runs. Story had a big series in Atlanta, hitting a go-ahead two-run homer in the opener.
Crochet (5-4) has pitched at least five innings in all 13 of his starts this season with eight quality outings. The 25-year-old has a streak of 13 outings with at least five innings pitched, which surpasses his MLB career-best run of 12 straight from April 29 to June 30, 2024.
Crochet became the first pitcher to have 12 or more strikeouts in a game against Atlanta since the Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler struck out a dozen Braves on May 7, 2023. Crochet is tied with MacKenzie Gore of the NL’s Washington Nationals for the MLB lead with 101 strikeouts this season.
Aroldis Chapman worked around a one-out walk he issued in the bottom of the ninth to earn his ninth save of the year.
Elder (2-3) allowed six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
After taking Monday off, the Braves will enter the second half of their six-game homestand when they start a three-game series against the NL West’s Arizona Diamondbacks. The scheduled starting pitchers for Tuesday’s opener are right-handers Spencer Strider (0-3, 4.50 ERA) for Atlanta and Zac Gallen (3-7, 5.54) for the Diamondbacks.
