Mike Yastrzemski drove in three runs and hit his first home run of the season as the Braves beat the Cubs 5-2 on Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at Truist Park.
Yastrzemski’s first long ball came in the fifth inning on a 3-2 slider from Cubs starter Colin Rea, a 380-foot shot to right field that snapped a drought of 116 at-bats over 38-plus games. It also gave Atlanta a jolt after the Cubs had tied the game 2-2. Yastrzemski finished 5-for-10 lifetime with three homers off Rea, and he had already put the Braves in front 1-0 with an RBI single in the third that scored Dominic Smith.
The fifth inning turned the game. Austin Riley hit his sixth home run of the season to tie it, then Yastrzemski followed with the swing Atlanta had been waiting for. Matt Olson added an RBI single against reliever Ryan Rolison, part of a four-run outburst that sent the Braves ahead for good.
Atlanta got there with a combination of offense and pitching that held up after Grant Holmes allowed two earned runs in four innings in his first start and appearance since May 1. Holmes threw 78 pitches and later pointed to one troublesome frame, saying, “Just feel like it’s that one inning every time,” and adding, “I feel like it’s a mental thing that I need to straighten out.”
Alex Bregman homered for the Cubs in the fourth inning, and Moisés Ballesteros later drove in a run on a fielder’s choice, but Atlanta answered immediately. Didier Fuentes earned the win and improved to 2-0 after throwing three innings of scoreless, no-hit relief with three strikeouts. Dylan Lee worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Raisel Iglesias finished with a perfect ninth for his seventh save in as many chances.
Yastrzemski, described as one of Atlanta’s key offseason acquisitions, said the swing has been coming around and that his focus was on approach rather than pressure. He said the lineup’s depth makes it easier to stay calm, because a player does not need to be the hero every night and can trust there is another quality at-bat waiting behind him. That fit the way Atlanta played Monday, with production spread through the order and no inning bigger than the fifth.
The win moved the Braves to 29-13, 6-1 in home series openers, 14-3 when they hit at least two home runs, and 18-7 when scoring first. They are also 24-0 when leading after eight innings, a run that speaks less to luck than to a team that keeps closing the door once it gets ahead.
