ATLANTA (AP) Sean Murphy hit a pair of two-run homers, Reynaldo LĆ³pez threw five scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 7-0 victory on Wednesday.
LĆ³pez (5-2) lowered his MLB-leading ERA to 1.57. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out six. LĆ³pez has given up just four runs in 40 2/3 innings over six home starts this year.
The Braves went 5-1 on a six-game homestand and have won six of their past seven. They allowed just two runs combined in the series and their struggling offense averaged 5.6 runs per game on the homestand.
āWeāre cautiously optimistic,ā Braves manager Brian Snitker said of his team's offensive turnaround. āWe felt like it was going to happen at some point in time, so good to see we are getting going. Murph kind of looked like his old self. Thatās exciting in itself. But throughout the lineup, weāre being who we are again.ā
Murphy, who made the National League All-Star team last season, was hitting just .135 in 15 games this season entering the game. The catcher went 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs.
Murphy missed 49 games after suffering an oblique injury on Opening Day.
āThe offense has been clicking a little bit more," Murphy said. "It is one of those things where hitting can be contagious. Today, everything clicked.ā
RamĆ³n Laureano was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second of the season and first with the Braves. Ozzie Albies went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored a run. In the fourth inning and on second base with out, Albies headed for third while Tigers starter Tarik Skubal was looking in for the sign, and Skubal wildly threw to third, allowing Albies to score to make it 5-0.
āAgainst a guy like that, youāre trying to get (runs) any way you can,ā Snitker said. āThatās just a very heads-up, alert play by Ozzie.ā
Skubal (8-3) gave up five runs, four earned, in four innings and allowed two of Atlanta's three home runs.
āIt just wasnāt a good day. He was off today,ā Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. āEarly on, they did some two-out hitting against him.ā
Gio Urshela, Wenceel Perez and Andy IbƔƱez each had two hits for the Tigers, who have dropped 10 of 13.
āWe have to focus on tomorrowās game,ā Skubal said. āThatās where our focus should be every single day. If we can do that for the rest of the year, I like the group weāve got in here.ā
Aaron Bummer (two innings), Daysbel HernƔndez (one) and Grant Holmes (one) finished the shutout. The Braves bullpen threw 10 2/3 scoreless innings in the series.
Murphy drove Skubal's changeup 407 feet into the Braves bullpen for a two-run blast to give the Braves a 3-0 lead in the third inning, then made it 7-0 in the fifth with another two-run homer.
UP NEXT
Tigers: Right-hander Jack Flaherty (4-4, 3.01 ERA) will open a three-game series against the White Sox against right-hander Erick Fedde (5-1, 3.09) in Detroit on Friday.
Braves: Left-hander Chris Sale (9-2, 2.98 ERA) gets the start at Yankee Stadium on Friday against left-hander Carlos Rodon (9-3, 3.28) to begin a three-game series, the first game of a seven-game road trip for Atlanta.
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