Chris Sale threw seven shutout innings to log his third straight scoreless start and the host Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres 3-0 on Monday to earn a split of a doubleheader while ending a four-game losing streak.
The Padres overcame a five-run deficit in the first game of the twin bill to defeat the Braves 6-5.
Sale (7-1) allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out nine in winning for the sixth straight time. He has covered 20 innings over his past three outings.
Pierce Johnson pitched a scoreless eighth and Raisel Iglesias worked a perfect ninth to earn his 11th save.
The losing pitcher was Randy Vasquez (0-3). He pitched a season-high six innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits to go along with no walks and two strikeouts.
Atlanta scored a run in the first inning when Ozzie Albies singled home Ronald Acuna Jr., who had tripled to open the frame.
The Braves made it 2-0 in the third. Marcell Ozuna doubled, extending his hitting streak to 13 games, and scored on catcher Travis d’Arnaud’s single to left field. d’Arnaud, who had missed the past two games after getting hit in the facemask by a foul ball, had three of the team’s 11 hits.
Ozuna accounted for another run in the fifth inning when he blasted a 410-foot home run into the left field seats. It was Ozuna’s 14th homer of the season, giving him the National League lead.
San Diego’s Luis Arraez had two hits and extended his on-base streak to 25 games. Jurickson Profar also had two hits for the Padres.
Enyel De Los Santos and Wandy Peralta each tossed a scoreless inning of relief for San Diego.
Both teams will begin road series on Tuesday. Atlanta starts a three-game set in Chicago against the Cubs, while San Diego starts a three-game series in Cincinnati.
–Field Level Media
