Aaron Bummer, Jarred Kelenic lead Braves to win vs. Red Sox

ATLANTA — Marcell Ozuna delivered the go-ahead single in the decisive two-run eighth and Jarred Kelenic homered for the first time this year. But Aaron Bummer‘s damage control in the sixth inning may have been the most important contribution in the Braves’ 4-2 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Truist Park.

“That was big, especially after getting hit,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.

Bummer inherited a bases-loaded, one-out situation after starting pitcher Reynaldo López issued three walks — including one with the bases loaded — in the sixth. The threat became more ominous when Ceddanne Rafaela hit a bouncer that had the potential to be an inning-ending double play but hit the Braves reliever’s right leg and fell into no-man’s land.

“I knew if it was one hit straight back at me, I was going straight to home and then I looked behind me and [second baseman Ozzie Albies] was standing right behind me,” Bummer said. “So I was pissed I didn’t get out of the way.”

Rafaela’s game-tying comebacker set the stage for Boston’s top of the order to add to the sixth-inning damage. But Bummer responded with consecutive strikeouts of Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers.

“I definitely had the privilege to watch him pitch over the past few seasons,” López said through an interpreter. “I know what kind of pitcher he is and I know what he’s capable of. That’s what you saw tonight.”

Much of the talk over the past couple weeks has centered around the slow starts Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Austin Riley have experienced. Each of them tallied at least one hit in this latest victory. Recent history indicates each of these MVP candidates could get rolling at any point.

Their early-season woes have been compensated by the consistent production of Ozuna, who leads the Majors with 34 RBIs.

But while the Braves will need these three stars to eventually start producing, their bid for a third straight 100-win season depends on guys like Bummer and Kelenic providing key contributions like they did on Tuesday night.

“We need all 26 [players], everybody that we have, to contribute if we’re going to do anything,” Snitker said. “It’s really fun to see all of those guys contribute to what was a really fun game.”

Kelenic was a heralded prospect who had underperformed for Seattle over the past few years. The Braves are hoping this new environment will help the 24-year-old outfielder realize his great potential and relieve some of the pressure that has seemingly burdened him over the years.

The Braves left fielder relieved some of his stress in the third inning when he hit a two-run homer off Kutter Crawford into the Chop House. This was his first home run of the season and his fifth extra-base hit. He entered Tuesday having hit .158 with a .389 OPS over his past 19 games going back to April 7.

“He’s continuing to believe in himself and work,” Snitker said. “It was good to see the power. I’m sure that felt real good to him.”

Bummer’s 4.50 ERA isn’t indicative of how he has pitched. He has allowed multiple runs in two of his first 13 appearances. That includes his March 31 outing in Philadelphia, when it looked like he had worked a scoreless seventh but a replay review erased an inning-ending double play and was followed by four consecutive singles.

It’s a game of inches. But looking at the metrics, the ERA isn’t the best measure for how valuable he could be the rest of the season. His walk rate is decent, his groundball percentage ranks in the 93 percentile and his barrel rate is in the 96th percentile.

López has been encouraged by what he has seen from his long-time White Sox teammate.

“I think as he continues to pitch, he’ll continue to get more confident,” López said. “The pitcher you saw tonight will be the pitcher you see moving forward.”