Acuña Jr. hits HR, Elder pitches seven strong innings as Braves beat slumping Tigers 8-1

DETROIT (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. homered and Bryce Elder pitched seven strong innings as the Atlanta Braves beat the slumping Detroit Tigers 10-1 on Friday night.

The Tigers have lost four straight and seven of their last eight, allowing the Cleveland Guardians to pull within three games of first place in the AL Central. They have been outscored 17-2 in their last three games.

Elder (8-10) allowed one run and five hits. He struck out six and walked none. Elder was facing the Tigers for the first time and has now pitched against every team other than the Braves.

The Braves scored three runs in each of the first two innings against former teammate Charlie Morton. Morton (9-11) allowed six runs while only getting four outs.

Jurickson Profar led off the game with a double, and Morton hit Matt Olson. It was the 200th time Morton had hit a batter, making him the fifth pitcher in MLB history to reach that dubious milestone and the first in 98 years.

Morton walked Acuña and Drake Baldwin to force in a run. Ozzie Albies followed with a two-run single.

Morton escaped the inning without further damage, but Nacho Alvarez Jr. started the second with an infield single. Profar grounded out, but Olson hit an RBI double to make it 4-0 and Acuña hit a two-run homer to end Morton's night.

Spencer Torkelson made it 6-1 in the fourth with his 30th homer, but Elder only allowed four other hits.

Ha-Seong Kim increased the lead to 8-1 with a two-run homer in the eighth and Baldwin hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

The Tigers had a chance for a rally when Parker Meadows tripled with two out in the third inning, but Elder got Gleyber Torres to ground out to third.

Morton was the first pitcher born after 1900 to reach 200 hit batters. Walter Johnson was the last to hit 200 batters — Homer Summa of the Cleveland Indians — on June 9, 1927. The others to reach 200 — Gus Weyhing, Chick Fraser and Pink Hawley — all began their careers in the 19th century.

Tigers RHP Keider Montero (5-3, 4.32 ERA) goes against Braves LHP Joey Wentz (5-6, 5.56) on Saturday.

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

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies fields a ground out from Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry during the third inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Charlie Morton throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies prepares to throw out Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows at first base during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. singles during the ninth inning of the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)