SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — Chris Sale pitched seven scoreless innings and Drake Baldwin drove in five runs as the Atlanta Braves crushed the Texas Rangers 15-1 on Friday night at Truist Park. Sale allowed two hits, struck out six and walked none, improving to 10-6. Baldwin went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in the fourth inning and an RBI single in the fifth. Austin Riley and Matt Olson also homered for Atlanta, which amassed 19 hits. The Braves scored two runs in the second, four in the fourth, two in the fifth, four in the seventh and three in the eighth. Texas managed its only run in the eighth on Nicky Lopez’s RBI single. Cal Quantrill took the loss, falling to 3-2. Texas fell to 49-48, while Atlanta improved to 56-40. Attendance was 40,147. The game lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes.

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — Chris Sale pitched seven shutout innings and Drake Baldwin drove in five runs as the Atlanta Braves routed the Texas Rangers 15-1 on Friday night at Truist Park before a crowd of 40,147. The game lasted 2 hours, 54 minutes. Sale improved to 10-6, allowing two hits and striking out six over seven innings. He walked none and retired 11 straight batters at one point. Cal Quantrill took the loss, falling to 3-2, after allowing eight runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings. Atlanta jumped ahead in the second inning. Dominic Smith led off with a single, and Austin Riley followed with a single to put runners at first and second. After a strikeout and a flyout, Baldwin lined a single to left that scored Smith. Ozzie Albies then singled to right to bring home Riley, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead. The Braves broke the game open in the fourth inning. Jim Jarvis singled, and Brewer Hicklen doubled to put runners at second and third. Baldwin launched his 16th home run of the season to center field, a three-run shot that made it 5-0. One out later, Matt Olson crushed his 26th homer to right field, stretching the lead to 6-0. Atlanta added two more in the fifth. Smith walked and moved to third on a flyout. Jarvis doubled to right to score Smith, and later scored on Baldwin’s second single of the night, making it 8-0. Sale continued to dominate, allowing only a double to Brandon Nimmo in the seventh, but he stranded Nimmo there. Sale exited after seven having thrown 17 strikes, 38 balls and 17 balls in play. The Braves poured on four runs in the seventh. With two outs and the bases loaded after a walk, hit by pitch and another walk, Michael Harris II doubled to right-center to clear the bases, scoring Baldwin, Albies and Olson. Mauricio Dubón followed with an RBI single, extending the margin to 12-0. Texas finally got on the board in the eighth against reliever Victor Mederos. Cam Cauley doubled and scored on a single by Nicky Lopez. Justin Foscue singled, but Mederos stranded two runners. Mederos went two innings, allowing three hits and one earned run with one strikeout. He also contributed at the plate, driving in two runs with a single in the bottom of the eighth. Atlanta responded immediately in the bottom half. Riley led off with his 10th home run of the season to left. Later, with two outs, Jorge Mateo doubled, and Mederos singled to left to drive in two more, making it 15-1. The Braves finished with 19 hits. Baldwin went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs. Harris was 2-for-6 with three RBIs. Riley went 2-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Olson went 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI. Jarvis and Dubón each had two hits and one RBI. Mederos was 1-for-1 with two RBIs. Texas managed five hits. Nimmo had a double, Cauley doubled and scored, Lopez had an RBI single, Foscue had a single, and Elias Díaz had a single. The loss dropped the Rangers to 49-48. The Braves improved to 56-40. Atlanta’s win followed a 4-3 victory at St. Louis on Sunday and a split of that four-game series. Texas entered having taken two of three from Houston at home. The two teams meet again Saturday in the second game of this three-game series. Texas then hosts Chicago White Sox for three games starting Monday, followed by a four-game set with Seattle. Atlanta continues its homestand with a three-game series against San Diego starting Monday, then travels to Baltimore and New York. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta 6, Texas 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Atlanta a 57.40 percent probability to win. Atlanta had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of 16 runs went under the over/under line of 8.5.

Rangers at Braves Preview SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — The Texas Rangers open a crucial three-game series against the Atlanta Braves on Friday night at Truist Park, with the first-place Braves looking to extend their lead in the National League East and the Rangers trying to climb back above .500 in the American League West. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. EDT under partly cloudy skies with temperatures near 80 degrees. Texas (49-47) sends right-hander Cal Quantrill (3-1, 4.30 ERA) to the mound. Quantrill has been solid since joining the rotation, though he has not faced Atlanta this season. The Rangers are coming off a 6-5 win over Houston on Sunday, snapping a two-game skid. Left fielder Brandon Nimmo drove in two runs, and reliever Tyler Alexander tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Atlanta (55-40) counters with left-hander Chris Sale (9-6, 2.95 ERA), who has been dominant for much of the season. Sale is averaging more than a strikeout per inning and gives the Braves a clear edge on the mound. Atlanta took two of three from St. Louis over the weekend, winning 4-3 on Sunday behind 4 1/3 strong innings from rookie right-hander JR Ritchie, who allowed one run and struck out two. Ritchie has been impressive in limited action, posting a 1.17 ERA over his last three outings. He earned wins in each of those appearances, including a scoreless three-inning stint against the Mets on July 4. For Texas, right-hander MacKenzie Gore remains a pitcher to watch. Gore struck out four over four innings in Sunday’s win, though he has been inconsistent — he allowed seven earned runs in five innings against the Angels on July 8. Atlanta leads the season series 1-0 after a 5-4 win in Texas on April 28. The Interstat game simulator projects a 6-5 Braves victory. Atlanta is a -1.5 run-line favorite, and the over/under is 8.5 runs. After this three-game set, Texas returns home for a six-game homestand against the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners. Atlanta hosts San Diego for four games before a road trip to Baltimore and New York.