Drake Baldwin powers Braves past Rockies 9-1 as Chris Sale dominates again

DENVER (AP) — Drake Baldwin homered and drove in four runs, Chris Sale allowed one run in seven innings and the Atlanta Braves rolled past the Colorado Rockies 9-1 on Saturday night.

Austin Riley and Matt Olson also homered for the Braves, who won for the 14th time in 17 games and improved their MLB-best record to 24-10.

Sale (6-1) gave up three hits and struck out 11 batters while earning his MLB-leading sixth win. In his last four starts, the nine-time All-Star has allowed just three earned runs with 33 strikeouts and seven walks over 26 innings.

Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. left in the second inning with left hamstring tightness. He was attempting to run out a grounder before he pulled up about halfway down the base path and grabbed at his left hamstring. He was replaced by Eli White in right field.

Manager Walt Weiss said after the game that Acuña will get an MRI and the team likely wouldn’t know more about the extent of the injury until later Saturday or Sunday.

Baldwin matched his single-game career high with three hits and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Olson’s homer, a 414-foot moonshot to right field in the ninth inning, was his team-high 11th. Ozzie Albies added two hits, including his eighth double of the season, to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

The Braves are 22-6 against the Rockies since the start of the 2022 season and have won 13 of their past 16 games at Coors Field dating to September 2021.

Brennan Bernardino (2-1) took the loss after allowing Baldwin’s two-run homer in the first inning and was pulled for Chase Dollander after just two-thirds of an inning. Dollander allowed a season-high six runs in 5 1/3 innings after giving up only four earned runs in 28 innings in six appearances in April.

Jordan Beck drove in Colorado’s lone run with an RBI double in the third.

Colorado LHP Kyle Freeland (1-2, 3.48 ERA) will face Atlanta RHP Spencer Strider, who'll make his season debut Sunday in the final game of the series.

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

Atlanta Braves' Austin Riley gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Chase Dollander in the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a solo home run off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Tanner Gordon in the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr., center left, walks gingerly after being injured while running out a groundout as first base umpire Bill Miller, center right, looks on in the second inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale works against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Atlanta Braves' Drake Baldwin, right, celebrates as he crosses home plate after hitting a two-run home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Brennan Bernardino in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Sofia Cantore scored two goals, Trinity Rodman added a goal and two assists, and the Washington Spirit won their fourth straight with a 4-2 victory over the Orlando Pride on Saturday.

In other National Women's Soccer League matches, the Utah Royals beat Angel City FC 1-0 on the road and the Kansas City Current edged the host North Carolina Courage 2-1.

After a 90-minute weather delay, Washington wasted no time. Rodman picked out Cantore who struck from outside the box in the second minute for a 1-0 lead.

In the seventh, Rodman passed to Cantore, who dribbled past Anna Moorhouse and slotted it home to double the lead.

The two goals (5:27) were the fastest ever in the league’s history with Cantore eclipsing the previous record set by Uchenna Kanu in 2024 by 13 seconds.

Golden boot leader Barbra Banda drew a foul in the box on defender Esme Morgan, but Spirit goalkeeper Sandy MacIver denied the penalty kick from Ally Lemos. On the ensuing corner kick, Banda scored for her sixth goal of the season to narrow the margin.

Banda completed a first-half brace with the equalizer and seventh goal in the 39th to tie it.

Paraguay international Claudia Martínez earned her first NWSL start and tallied her second goal of the season in the 55th minute, giving the Spirit (4-1-3) back the lead.

Rodman scored the game’s final goal in the 70th minute, marking her third consecutive game with a score.

Despite Banda’s second consecutive game with two goals, the Pride (2-3-2) have dropped both results.

Captain Paige Cronin delivered a pinpoint cross onto Cloé Lacasse’s head for the game’s only goal in the 32nd minute, giving Utah (4-2-1) a fourth straight win.

In first half stoppage time, Maiara Niehues received a direct red card for violent conduct towards Lacasse. It was the first in club history for Angel City FC, who would also play down a player the entirety of the second half.

Royals Goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn started her first match of the 2026 season and earned the clean sheet with four saves.

After starting the season with three consecutive wins, Angel City FC (3-3-0) have now lost three straight.

Croix Bethune and Michelle Cooper scored first-half goals for the Current (3-4-0), who hung on for the win on the road.

Bethune opened up the scoring with a volleyed goal in the eighth minute. In the 23rd, Cooper dribbled past goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and finished from a tight angle to make it 2-0.

Manaka Matsukubo trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the 85th for North Carolina (2-2-3) with a goal off a rebound.

Courage defender Felicitas Rauch was handed a straight red card in second half stoppage time for violent conduct on Haley Hopkins.

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

FILE - Washington Spirit forward Sofia Cantore plays during the second half of an NWSL soccer match against the Portland Thorns FC, March 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams, File)