Atlanta, GA – Curtis Granderson hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning Wednesday night and the New York Yankees finished up their second straight three-game sweep with a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
The Braves stranded 13 runners on base, including two in the eighth inning when Cody Eppley got Martin Prado to ground into a double play and one in the ninth after Chipper Jones hit a two-out single and Rafael Soriano retired Jason Heyward on a pop out to end the game.
"It was frustrating this series. We felt like we had some opportunities, but they made some pitches and plays when they needed to to keep us from scoring and getting the big inning and add-on runs," Braves starter Tim Hudson said.
Derek Jeter had two hits and two runs scored and Hiroki Kuroda (6-6) struck out eight batters in six innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and two walks to remain unbeaten in his last four starts.
Boone Logan, Eppley and Soriano held the Braves scoreless the rest of the way as the Yankees improved to 9-1 in their last 10 games and 16-4 in their last 20. They were coming off a three-game sweep of the Mets.
Brian McCann hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who have dropped four in a row after a six-game winning streak.
Hudson (4-3) went six innings for the Braves, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out eight and walking none. He was throwing on extra rest after a 108-pitch shutout of the Marlins last week and because of a sore left ankle.
Jeter led off the game with a double, took third on a ground out by Granderson and scored on Alex Rodriguez's single up the middle to make it 1-0. It was the 1,923rd RBI of Rodriguez's career, drawing him within one of Jimmie Foxx for sixth place all-time.
Rain fell early in the game and really started to pick up by the bottom of the fourth, when the Braves wasted a second-and-third opportunity. They were the sixth and seventh runners stranded on base by Atlanta to that point, which included a bases-loaded chance in the second inning.
Not that New York was faring much better after scoring in the first. Hudson faced the minimum in the second, third and fifth innings and McCann gave the Braves a 2-1 lead with his eighth homer of the season, a lined two-run blast over the right field wall in the bottom of the fifth.
But Jeter led off another inning with a hit, a single to start the sixth, and Granderson followed with a two-run homer to right, his 19th of the season, to make it 3-2.
"I finally got a pitch around the plate that I could somewhat handle a little bit," Granderson said. "[Hudson] had done an exceptional job throughout the course of the game with balls just out of the zone. .... That particular pitch I was able to go ahead and get it, and I didn't miss it."
Game Notes
The Yankees are 9-2 all-time at Turner Field in the regular season...The teams will play three games at Yankee Stadium next week...Kuroda is 3-0 in his last four starts. He was coming off a seven-inning outing against the Mets last Friday, when he gave up just one hit and came out after taking a line drive off his foot on the last batter he faced...Michael Bourn went 2-for-5 for the Braves and extended his hitting streak to 13 games, tying a career-high set last July...The Yankees will start a three-game series in Washington on Friday and the Braves will host the Orioles in a three-game series, also beginning Friday. They are 2-4 on a nine-game homestand.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.