Rangers hit 3 homers, overcome early deficit to stop Braves' 6-game win streak with 6-4 victory

ATLANTA (AP) — Andrew Knizner hit a three-run homer, Adolis García added a two-run shot and the Texas Rangers avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday night.

Evan Carter also went deep as the reigning World Series champions erased an early 3-0 deficit and stopped Atlanta’s six-game winning streak. Michael Lorenzen (2-0) recovered from a rocky start, giving up three runs and three hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

David Robertson worked 1 2/3 innings in relief and Kirby Yates got four outs for his third save.

“The homer was great to get us ahead, but with that lineup over there it’s all about pitching and executing pitches the rest of the game,” Knizner said. “Lorenzen, Robertson and Yates just did an outstanding job. Those are the guys that held it down for us.”

Marcell Ozuna launched his major league-leading ninth homer for the Braves, a three-run shot off Lorenzen in the first inning.

Atlanta rookie Darius Vines (1-1) allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings while striking out six and walking two. He was optioned to the minors after the game.

Carter’s solo shot in the fourth and Knizner’s drive later in the inning gave Texas a 4-3 lead. García connected off Tyler Matzek in the eighth to make it 6-3.

Helped by García’s error in right field when he dropped a flyball, the Braves got a run back in the bottom half on Austin Riley’s RBI single. Atlanta had two runners on with nobody out, but Robertson struck out Matt Olson and retired Ozuna on a popup. Yates entered and struck out Orlando Arcia to end the inning.

“Robertson, what a job he did with some of the stuff going on out there,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “He bowed his neck and there were some pretty good hitters he had to go through. ... I can’t say enough about how he kept his poise.”

Carter also had an infield single and made two diving catches in left field.

Knizner, the Rangers’ backup catcher, entered the game 1 for 16 this season but finished with two hits. His three-run homer to right followed singles by Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Smith.

Ozuna homered with two outs in the first. From there, Lorenzen dominated the potent Braves lineup, giving up just one hit over the next five innings as the Rangers rallied.

Atlanta reserve catcher Chadwick Tromp threw out two runners trying to steal.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: Manager Brian Snitker said catcher Sean Murphy has been ramping up his fielding activities but has not been cleared to hit as he recovers from his oblique injury. ... Second baseman Ozzie Albies has been doing light fielding drills while recovering from his broken toe.

UP NEXT

Rangers: RHP Dane Dunning (2-1, 3.91 ERA) will face Mariners RHP Logan Gilbert (1-0, 2.33) in the opener of a three-game series at Texas on Tuesday.

Braves: RHP Bryce Elder will be called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to make his first major league start this season Monday night against Marlins LHP Ryan Weathers (2-1, 2.70 ERA) in Atlanta. Elder made 31 starts last year and was 12-4 with a 3.81 ERA. He was selected to the NL All-Star team, but struggled in the second half and got hit hard in his lone playoff appearance against the Phillies.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. hits a single in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Atlanta Braves designated hitter Marcell Ozuna (20) follows through on a three-run home run as Texas Rangers catcher Andrew Knizner (12) looks on in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Texas Rangers' Evan Carter hits a solo home run off Atlanta Braves pitcher Darius Vines in the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Texas Rangers pitcher Michael Lorenzen delivers to a Atlanta Braves batter in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Texas Rangers' Andrew Knizner follows through on a three-run home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers pulled back on their hiring in April but still added a decent 175,000 jobs in a sign that persistently high interest rates may be starting to slow the robust U.S. job market.

Friday’s government report showed that last month’s hiring gain was down sharply from the blockbuster increase of 315,000 in March. And it was well below the 233,000 gain that economists had predicted for April.

Yet the moderation in the pace of hiring, along with a slowdown last month in wage growth, will likely be welcomed by the Federal Reserve, which has kept interest rates at a two-decade high to fight persistently elevated inflation. Hourly wages rose a less-than-expected 0.2% from March and 3.9% from a year earlier, the smallest annual gain since June 2021.

The Fed has been delaying any consideration of interest rate cuts until it gains more confidence that inflation is steadily slowing toward its target. Fed rate cuts would, over time, reduce the cost of mortgages, auto loans and other consumer and business borrowing.

Stock futures jumped Friday after the jobs report was released on hopes that rate cuts might now be more likely sometime in the coming months.

Even with the April hiring slowdown, last month’s job growth amounted to a solid increase, though it was the lowest monthly job growth since October. With the nation’s households continuing their steady spending, many employers have had to keep hiring to meet their customer demand.

The unemployment rate ticked up 3.9% — the 27th straight month in which it has remained below 4%, the longest such streak since the 1960s.

Last month's hiring was led by healthcare companies, which added 56,000 jobs. Warehouse and transportation companies added 22,000 and retailers 20,000.

The state of the economy is weighing on voters’ minds as the November presidential campaign intensifies. Despite the strength of the job market, Americans remain generally exasperated by high prices, and many of them assign blame to President Joe Biden.

America’s job market has repeatedly proved more robust than almost anyone had predicted. When the Fed began aggressively raising rates two years ago to fight a punishing inflation surge, most economists expected the resulting jump in borrowing costs to cause a recession and drive unemployment to painfully high levels.

The Fed raised its benchmark rate 11 times from March 2022 to July 2023, taking it to the highest level since 2001. Inflation did steadily cool as it was supposed to — from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.5% in March.

Yet the resilient strength of the job market and the overall economy, fueled by steady consumer spending, has kept inflation persistently above the Fed’s 2% target.

The job market has been showing other signs of eventually slowing. This week, for example, the government reported that job openings fell in March to 8.5 million, the fewest in more than three years. Still, that is nevertheless a large number of vacancies: Before 2021, monthly job openings had never topped 8 million, a threshold they have now exceeded every month since March 2021.

On a month-over-month basis, consumer inflation hasn’t declined since October. The 3.5% year-over-year inflation rate for March was still running well above the Fed’s 2% target.

FILE - Social worker Lupita Armijo-Garcia works at her desk in the Ottawa County, Mich., Department of Public Health office, Sept. 5, 2023, in Holland, Mich. On Friday, May 3, 2024, the U.S. government issues its April jobs report. (AP Photo/Kristen Norman)

FILE - Math teacher Margie Howells teaches a fifth grade class at Wheeling Country Day School in Wheeling, WV, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. On Friday, May 3, 2024, the U.S. government issues its April jobs report. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

A salesperson shows an unsold 2024 Cooper SE electric hardtop to a prospective buyer at a Mini dealership Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Highlands Ranch, Colo. On Friday, May 3, 2024, the U.S. government issues its April jobs report. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)