Atlanta Braves closer to first place – just in time for a little boost from the front office a day before the trade deadline.Freeman hit a go-ahead homer in the third inning http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , Ronald Acuna Jr. also went deep and the Braves beat the Miami Marlins 5-3 on Monday night to move a half-game behind first-place Philadelphia in the NL East.Following the game, the Braves announced they had acquired outfielder Adam Duvall from the Cincinnati Reds for three players who had been with Triple-A Gwinnett: right-handers Lucas Sims and Matt Wisler and outfielder Preston Tucker.”It’s nice to be adding players instead of subtracting like we’ve done the last few years,” Freeman said.Before adding Duvall, the Braves acquired veteran relievers Brad Brach and Jonny Venters.With Brach making his Atlanta debut with a scoreless eighth, four relievers combined for four scoreless innings.”That was really big because they were under some duress,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. ”… Anytime you add that depth to your bullpen, it’s going to help.”Brian Anderson’s two-run homer off Julio Teheran (8-7) in the first gave Miami a lead Wei-Yin Chen (3-8) couldn’t hold.The Braves pulled even in the second when Tyler Flowers walked, moved to third on Johan Camargo’s double and scored on Ender Inciarte’s fly ball. Camargo scored on Teheran’s two-out single up the middle.Freeman’s homer, his 18th, in the third gave Atlanta the lead . Flowers walked and scored from first on another double to left by Camargo.After J.T. Realmuto’s run-scoring double in the fifth cut Atlanta’s lead to 4-3, Acuna led off the bottom of the inning with his 10th homer , just over the reach of Magneuris Sierra in center field.A.J. Minter pitched the ninth for his sixth save in six chances.Chen’s road struggles continued as he allowed five runs in five innings.Chen has a 10.27 ERA in nine road starts. It’s a dramatic contrast to his 2.18 mark in eight home starts. According to figures from Elias Sports Bureau, the 8.09 gap between Chen’s home and road ERA was the highest for any pitcher in the majors with five or more home and road starts.”He just doesn’t seem the same on the road,” said Marlins manager Don Mattingly. ”Again, not sure why.”Teheran needed 98 pitches to pitch five innings. He allowed three runs on four hits and four walks.Brach, acquired from Baltimore on Sunday in exchange for international bonus pool allotment Willie Stargell Jersey , made his Atlanta debut by giving up one hit in a scoreless eighth.TRAINER’S ROOMBraves: LHP Sam Freeman was placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Sunday, with left shoulder inflammation. The move cleared a spot on the active roster for Brach.STAYING CLOSEAnderson said it was another case of the Marlins losing a competitive game.”We’ve done a really good job of battling in these games and fighting and keeping them close,” he said. ”… We’re getting to their starters, getting them out of the game and getting deep in the bullpen. We’ve just got to finish them off.”ALLARD COMING UPThe Braves will call up left-hander Kolby Allard to start Tuesday night’s game against Miami. It will be the major league debut for Allard, 20, a first-round pick in 2015 who was 6-4 with a 2.80 ERA for Triple-A Gwinnett this season.Snitker said the move will give his other starters an additional day of rest, though Snitker wouldn’t commit to a strict six-man rotation. Left-hander Sean Newcomb threw a career-high 134 pitches while coming within one out of a no-hitter in Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.Snitker said Newcomb likely will need ”an extra day or two” before his next start.Newcomb apologized in a team meeting before the game for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager. The tweets resurfaced after Sunday’s game.ON DECKMarlins: RHP Dan Straily (4-4, 4.07 ERA) will look for his third win over Atlanta this season in Tuesday’s night’s game. He is 4-2 with a 4.35 ERA in eight career starts against Atlanta, including 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA this season.Braves: Allard has a 2.96 ERA in 64 career minor league starts. He spent the full 2017 season with Double-A Mississippi, where he had a 3.18 ERA.— BOSTON (AP) — David Price believes he’s finally become the pitcher the Boston Red Sox were looking for when they signed him.Price pitched seven solid innings, J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 38th homer after Boston jumped to a quick lead and the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Saturday night for their 17th victory in 20 games.Signed to a seven-year, $217 million deal before 2016, the lefty feels as if he’s finally paying off.“Getting back to myself. I definitely changed a lot of stuff up here the last 2 ½ years,” he said. “To be able to get back to the pitcher that Boston signed http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , it’s about time.”Price (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his five starts since the All-Star break.With ace lefty Chris Sale going on the 10-day disabled list Saturday for the second time in nearly three weeks, Price doesn’t see any additional pressure to fill the void.“I’m making $32 million,” Price said. “It don’t change what I’m doing. I’ve got enough pressure on me.”And he’s responded.“We expect him to go deep into games and give us a chance to win and he’s been doing that,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.Mitch Moreland added an RBI double during Boston’s four-run first inning. The Red Sox, who own the majors’ best record, improved to a season-high 52 games over .500 and maintained their 10 ½-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer for the Rays. Tampa Bay fell to 4-11 against Boston this season.Tyler Glasnow (0-1), making his fourth start since being acquired from Pittsburgh at the non-wavier trading deadline, gave up five runs, four earned, and three hits. He walked three and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.“Very encouraging. The first inning was such a fluke for him, for all of us. Just a lot of odd things,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “His strike-throwing kind of eluded him for whatever reason, but he’s got to take a lot of positives from that outing.”The Red Sox took advantage of Glasnow’s wildness to jump ahead 4-0 in the first. Moreland’s RBI double made it 1-0 before Martinez and Xander Bogaerts walked to load the bases. The righty then walked Ian Kinsler, forcing in a run.First baseman Jake Bauers then fired Brock Holt’s grounder into left field attempting a force at second and two runs scored Roberto Clemente Jersey , making it 4-0.“Just came in, didn’t feel that great from warmups to the first inning,” Glasnow said. “Just kind of realized that this is what I had today and I needed to just go out and compete as hard as I can and get out of that fix-it mode.”In the third, Martinez homered into Boston’s bullpen.Cron’s homer cleared the Green Monster and left Fenway Park completely in the sixth.Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 37th save.HEADS UPTampa Bay’s Carlos Gomez advanced to third when it was left uncovered on a popup that was caught between first and the plate in the first inning.“That was probably my part to go cover third base right there and I didn’t do that,” Price said.NOT HEADS UPWith Kinsler on second and Holt on first in the first, Kinsler got caught trying to steal third too quickly when Glasnow stepped off and got him in a rundown. Holt was unsure where to go, standing between first and second before he was tagged out in a rundown for an inning-ending double play.Three innings later, Tampa Bay’s Tommy Pham was doubled off second on a fly ball to the left-field warning track.FRIENDLY FENWAYThe Red Sox improved their home record to a majors’ best 44-15.TRAINER’S ROOMRays: C Jesus Sucre missed his fourth straight game with a sore right wrist.Red Sox: Sale was placed on the DL with mild inflammation in his left shoulder. “It’s definitely less than it was last time,” Sale said. . LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (DL since July 15, sprained right ankle) is scheduled to make a rehab start on Monday.UP NEXTRays: Cash said after the game that RHP Diego Castillo (3-2, 3.63 ERA) would start Sunday’s series finale.Red Sox: RHP Hector Velazquez (7-0, 2.77) will take Sale’s turn.
