Michael Harris II hits grand slam in return as Braves crush Giants

Michael Harris II hit a first-inning grand slam in his first game back from the injured list, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Sean Murphy added home runs and the visiting Atlanta Braves made it three in a row over the San Francisco Giants with a 13-2 victory Wednesday night.

Grant Holmes (1-0) went a season-best seven innings for his first major league win, helping the Braves clinch the season series over the Giants. The clubs meet one final time in the regular season Thursday afternoon.

Giants starter Robbie Ray (2-2) hit the first two batters he faced — Jorge Soler and Riley — before issuing one-out walks to Olson and Orlando Arcia, forcing in the game’s first run.

Harris, who played in his first game since June 14 after suffering a hamstring injury, then made it a five-run inning by hitting his first career grand slam into McCovey Cove. The homer was his sixth of the season.

Ray faced just two more batters — issuing a third walk to Murphy — before getting pulled after recording just two outs. He was charged with five runs despite having given up just one hit. Both outs he recorded were strikeouts.

Olson’s 21st homer made it 6-1 in the third, Riley’s 19th upped the lead to 7-1 in the fifth and Murphy’s seventh, a two-run shot, made it 11-2 in the eighth.

The Braves tacked on two in the ninth thanks in large part to three walks from Mike Yastrzemski, who came in from right field to pitch the final inning. Harris added a career-best fifth RBI in the ninth with a bases-loaded groundout.

Holmes allowed two runs and eight in his seven innings. The rookie walked one and struck out six.

Tyler Fitzgerald hit a leadoff homer, his 14th, in the first for the Giants and Brett Wisely added an RBI single in the seventh.

Olson, Ramon Laureano and Whit Merrifield had two hits each for the Braves, who finished with more runs (13) than hits (11). Olson scored three times, while Riley and Laureano each had a pair of runs.

Fitzgerald and Michael Conforto had two hits apiece for the Giants, who lost their fourth straight.

–Field Level Media