Acuña hits homer and Strider fans 13 as Braves' 4-1 win leaves Rockies with worst 70-game record

ATLANTA (AP) — Spencer Strider recorded 13 strikeouts in his first win of the season, Ronald Acuña Jr. stayed hot with two hits, including a two-run homer, and the Atlanta Braves beat Colorado 4-1 on Saturday.

The loss left the Rockies with the worst record through 70 games in the modern era. Colorado (13-57) surpassed the 1932 Boston Red Sox, who were 14-56, for the worst 70-game mark since 1901. The Rockies set another team record for a nine-inning game with 19 strikeouts, also a nine-inning record for Atlanta pitchers.

The resurgent Braves have won consecutive series after falling 10 games under .500 while losing six straight series. They have outscored the Rockies 16-5 in the first two games of the series after setting a scoring high in Friday night's 12-4 win.

Strider (1-5) was dominant in his sixth start since being activated from the injured list on May 19. He allowed three hits with one walk in six innings.

Acuña, hitting .387, hit a two-run homer off Chase Dollander (2-7) in the second for his seventh homer in only 20 games since returning on May 23 after missing almost a full season following surgery on his left knee. The blast carried 410 feet, landing in the Rockies' bullpen behind the left field wall.

Strider's fastballs were clocked at 97 and 98 mph early in the game, showing a return close to the velocity he featured before having the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow repaired with an internal brace in 2024. He continued to stack up strikeouts even with his fastballs returning to 95 and 96 mph by the fifth inning.

Atlanta's Grant Holmes (3-5, 4.07) will face Colorado's Austin Gomber (5-12, 4.75) in Sunday's final game of the series. Chris Sale, originally scheduled to start, will be pushed back one game for Atlanta.

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Colorado Rockies pitcher Chase Dollander (32) delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson hits a single in the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. hits a two-run home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider (99) delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)