Braves 13, Rockies 10
Andrelton Simmons capped a seven-run first inning with a grand slam as visiting Atlanta jumped out early and held off Colorado.
Evan Gattis went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs scored while Freddie Freeman added a solo blast and two RBIs for the Braves, who finished with 16 hits. Starter Mike Minor was rocked for eight runs on 11 hits in four innings, but David Hale (2-0) settled things with 2 1/3 solid frames to notch the win in relief and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 18th save.
Juan Nicasio (5-5) lasted only 3 2/3 innings for the Rockies and was charged with 10 runs on 11 hits and a pair of walks en route to his third straight loss. Wilin Rosario went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs as seven different players drove in at least one run for Colorado, whose comeback attempt fell short.
Jason Heyward led off the game with a double and scored on B.J. Upton’s triple before Freeman’s RBI groundout made it 2-0. Tommy La Stella capped a string of four straight singles with an RBI base hit to left before Simmons took a 1-0 slider just over the wall in left-center to cap the rally.
The Rockies got back three runs in the bottom of the first and cut their deficit to 8-5 on Nicasio’s RBI single in the third before Freeman and Gattis each delivered solo blasts in the fourth. Rosario homered in the bottom half and Corey Dickerson’s RBI single an inning later cut it to 10-8, but La Stella capped a three-run rally in the sixth with an RBI base hit as the Braves pushed the lead to five.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Nicasio is 0-3 with a 14.49 ERA and 31 hits allowed over 13 2/3 total innings in his last three turns. … Braves LF Justin Upton left in the bottom of the first with a hamstring injury. … Colorado OF Carlos Gonzalez had a small mass removed from his left index finger and a biopsy will be performed before a rehab plan is put in place.