JOSH DONALDSON homered in his first two at-bats and Max Fried tossed 6 1/3 strong innings as the visiting Atlanta Braves breezed to an 11-5 rout of the Cleveland Indians on Sunday night.
Donaldson drove in four runs while Freddie Freeman had a pair of RBI singles to highlight his three-hit performance.
Ozzie Albies had a two-run single and joined Freeman in scoring twice for the Braves, who saw each member of the starting lineup record at least one of the team’s 16 hits.
Donaldson provided the fireworks by depositing a 1-1 slider from starter Shane Bieber (2-1) over the wall in center field for a solo homer in the first inning. The 2015 American League Most Valuable Player wasn’t done, launching a 1-2 fastball from Bieber deep into the bleachers in left field for a three-run shot in the second inning.
Donaldson’s multi-homer performance was his first since Sept. 26, 2017, when he went deep twice off Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale while playing with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The 33-year-old Donaldson’s power display on Sunday night nearly eclipsed his totals accumulated in a 16-game stretch with the Indians last season. He had three homers and seven RBIs in that span. — Reuters
