ATLANTA (AP) — Austin Riley hit a three-run homer, Grant Holmes pitched six scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves routed the Boston Red Sox 8-1 Sunday to win another series.
The first-place Braves took two of three from Boston for their 13th win in 15 series this season. They have only one series loss, along with the split of a four-game set.
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Atlanta Braves right fielder José Azócar (38) celebrates a catch off the bat of Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello (66) works in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Holmes (66) works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley celebrates his three-run homer against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley hits a three-run homer against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Mike Yastrzemski also homered for Atlanta, which jumped ahead 5-0 through two innings against Brayan Bello (2-5) on his 27th birthday.
Riley got the Braves rolling with his seventh homer of the season, a 431-foot shot with two outs in the first. Michael Harris II kept the inning alive by hustling to first to beat the relay throw on a potential inning-ending double play.
Yastrzemski kept up his hot hitting with a leadoff homer in the fourth. Riley doubled in the fifth and came home on Dominic Smith's single to make it 7-0.
Holmes (3-1) allowed five hits and walked one in an 87-pitch effort. Reynaldo López added two scoreless innings before Tyler Kinley gave up Boston's lone run with two outs in the ninth.
It was another rough start for Bello, who had pitched well in his past two appearances coming out of the bullpen after an opener. He has now allowed 33 earned runs in 30 1-3 innings as a starter.
Ozzie Albies snapped an 0-for-24 hitless streak — the second longest of his career.
A sudden downpour struck in the top of the sixth, but the tarp was barely on the infield before the storm passed. The game resumed after a delay of 33 minutes, though Boston catcher Carlos Narváez was lifted because of finger pain.
Red Sox: Boston continues its road trip Monday night with the start of a three-game series at Kansas City. RH Sonny Gray (4-1, 3.18 ERA) goes for the Red Sox against Royals RH Seth Lugo (1-3, 3.76).
Braves: RH JR Ritchie (1-0, 3.32) takes the mound in Miami for the opener of a four-game series Monday night. The Marlins will counter with RH Max Meyer (3-0, 3.21).
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Atlanta Braves right fielder José Azócar (38) celebrates a catch off the bat of Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello (66) works in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves pitcher Grant Holmes (66) works in the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley celebrates his three-run homer against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley hits a three-run homer against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of people streamed onto the National Mall for a daylong prayer rally Sunday billed as a “rededication of our country as One Nation under God.”
Against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, worship music blared from a stage that made clear the event’s Christian focus. Arched stained-glass windows, set underneath grand columns resembling a federal building, depicted the nation’s founders alongside a white cross.
Most speakers celebrated Christianity’s ties to American history, a blending of ideas that critics flagged ahead of the prayer gathering as supporting Christian nationalism.
President Donald Trump read a passage of Scripture in a video shown at the rally. Filmed in the Oval Office, it was the same footage used during a marathon Bible-reading event last month. The verses from 2 Chronicles are often cited by those who believe America was founded as a Christian nation.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways,” Trump read, “then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Other top Republicans, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were also on the schedule as part of the celebrations this year marking 250 years of U.S. independence.
Only one name on the Rededicate 250 program was not Christian. Most were among Trump’s longtime evangelical supporters, including Paula White-Cain of the White House Faith Office and evangelist Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse.
“We are deeply concerned that what is really being rededicated is a nation to a very narrow and ideological part of the Christian faith that betrays our nation’s fundamental commitment to religious freedom,” said the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister who leads the progressive Christian organization Sojourners.
The conservative Christian lineup featured guests who often argue that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, a narrative disputed by many historians and other religious traditions.
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, noted the religious diversity of early America, including Jews, Muslims and Indigenous people. “I want to shine a light on America’s history as a nation that welcomes, celebrates, and protects people of all faiths and those of no faith,” Pesner said.
Many in the crowd wore Trump hats and patriotic colors, joining the festivities under a sweltering sun.
“It’s all about Jesus,” said Denny Smith, 72, of Rhode Island, who rented a motorized scooter to traverse the National Mall.
Retha Bond, 58 and from southern Illinois, also heard Trump speak not far away on Jan. 6, 2021. She said she did not join the protesters who rioted later that day at the Capitol but has remained a steadfast Trump supporter.
“I’m not saying Trump is the savior,” Bond said. She added that "this is one of the most important things that could be going on in the world, for us to rededicate our nation back to God.”
At least one event speaker mentioned the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk from the stage. Kirk's activism has been a powerful example for Alessandra Seawright, 15, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who came to Rededicate 250 with her mother.
“I think we just need more of this in our country, and we just need to share the word of the Lord,” she said. “We love going to events like this.”
They also attended Kirk’s memorial service, which mixed Christian worship and political messages. Events like these, Seawright said, help her feel less alone in her conservative Christian beliefs.
Hegseth, who has infused Christian language and worship with his role leading the Pentagon, asked the gathering in a video to pray to “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Referencing George Washington’s faith, he said, “Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee.”
Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Meir Soloveichik was the only non-Christian religious leader listed on the program. To applause, he told the crowd, “Antisemitism is utterly un-American” — a seeming reference to debates dividing the right.
Soloveichik serves on the Trump administration’s Religious Liberty Commission along with White-Cain, Graham and Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron, Catholic clerics also featured on the program.
The event was organized by Freedom 250, a public-private partnership backed by the White House. Congressional Democrats have questioned the nonprofit’s structure and finances, which they see as a Trump-controlled end run around a separate commission charted by Congress a decade ago to prepare semiquincentennial events.
Progressive groups staged counterprogramming. Among them were the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates a strict separation of church and state, and the Christian organization Faithful America. The two groups displayed a large balloon near the mall of a Trump-like golden calf, in a biblical reference to idolatry.
On Thursday evening, the Interfaith Alliance projected protest slogans onto an exterior wall of the National Gallery of Art. “Democracy not theocracy,” said one. Another said: “The separation of church and state is good for both.”
Associated Press writer Peter Smith in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Dorothea and Billy Ohlandt, from North Carolina, arrive at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The stage is seen ahead of Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People worship to Christian music at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Secretary of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of La., Secretary of State Marco Rubio Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Chief of Protocol of the United States Ambassador Monica Crowley Dr. Ben Carson, Founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute Major General Patrick Brady, USA (Ret.) Medal of Honor Recipient and retired United States Army Major General President of Hillsdale College Dr. Larry Arnn speaks during the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A guest attends the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Dorothea Ohlandt, from North Carolina, arrives at Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A person prays during Rededicate 250, a mostly conservative Christian prayer gathering in honor of the United States' 250th anniversary, on the National Mall, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A guest attends the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Guest attend the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A guest attends the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A guest attends the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A guest attends the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
A guest dressed as Abraham Lincoln attends the Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
