Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam and Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies also homered to propel the visiting Atlanta Braves to a 10-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday.

Acuna’s home run, his third of the season, came against reliever Greg Weissert and was part of a five-run sixth inning that handed Atlanta a 7-2 lead.

Harris hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to extend Atlanta’s lead to 8-2, and Albies finalized the scoring with a two-run homer in the ninth. Albies had three hits for the Braves, who won two games in the three-game series.

Chris Sale (8-3) limited the Red Sox to two runs in five innings to earn the win. He allowed six hits, walked three and struck out eight. Danny Coulombe (0-2), responsible for three runs in the five-run sixth, took the loss.

Boston starting pitcher Payton Tolle was pulled with two outs in the fifth. He gave up two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out seven.

Boston’s Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two hits and reached base four times. The Red Sox also received two hits from Caleb Durbin.

The Braves grabbed a 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the fourth. After Matt Olson scored on a Jorge Mateo single, Dominic Smith hit an RBI single that drove in Albies to make it 2-0.

Boston responded by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Durbin drove in Kiner-Falefa with a double, and then Durbin scored on Jarren Duran’s single.

The Braves regained the lead when Coulombe loaded the bases with no outs and Mike Yastrzemski drew a bases-loaded walk from Weissert to break the 2-2 tie. Acuna followed with his grand slam to left center.

Jovani Moran gave up the home run to Harris, who also homered when the Braves beat the Red Sox 7-6 on Tuesday. Albies homered against Ryan Watson.

Boston has lost five of its last six games, and is 2-8 in its last 10 home games.

–Field Level Media

The Montreal Canadiens have twice already in these playoffs drummed up a victory in an elimination game.

The Canadiens must find that magic again to keep their playoff hopes alive when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals in Raleigh, N.C.

Carolina holds a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and has won the last three clashes, the latest a 4-0 victory on Wednesday.

“They’re making it hard on us for sure, but we’ve got to find more answers,” forward Alex Newhook said. “We’ve got to find more answers as individuals as well, hold ourselves to higher standards that we can be better than what we’ve been.”

The series winner will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas swept the Colorado Avalanche in Western Conference finals.

Only once in 73 instances in NHL history has a team trailing 3-1 in a best-of-seven conference finals or NHL semifinals rebounded to win the series: the 2000 New Jersey Devils against the Philadelphia Flyers.

A comeback would be a tall order at any time, but the Canadiens must find a way to generate offense to even have a hope. Montreal has been held to 18 shots or fewer in each of the last three games, two of which reached overtime. Even their fans were chanting in frustration for the Canadiens to shoot the puck.

Turning the tide will require plenty of changes.

“You’ve got to believe that you can actually do it,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “To me, I don’t doubt that I believe we can do it. … We’ll put our best foot forward for Game 5.”

Montreal defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Buffalo Sabres in a pair of Game 7s in the first two rounds, both on the road.

The Hurricanes are looking to advance to the finals for the time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006, when current head coach Rod Brind’Amour was a player.

To say Carolina has been firing on all cylinders would be an understatement. After sweeping their opponents in each of the first two rounds, the Eastern Conference’s top club during the regular season dropped the series opener to Montreal, 6-2, but has followed with textbook performances.

The Hurricanes’ victory on Wednesday was as complete of a performance as could be hoped for at this juncture of the playoff chase.

“It was an exceptional game, but, man, the fourth one is always the hardest one to win,” captain Jordan Staal said on Thursday. “It’s going to be a brand-new challenge, brand-new game and a whole new set of scenarios. We’re going to have to bottle that up and try to do that again and get ready for their best.”

The Hurricanes have shown the right killer instinct this season when they had a chance to close out a series.

Adding to the excitement in this round is the fact they have can claim the Prince of Wales Trophy on home ice before their frenzied faithful.

“It’s huge,” defenseman Jaccob Slavin said of the opportunity before his squad. “We’ve got a great community. The fans are passionate about Carolina hockey. It’s an exciting opportunity, but at the end of the day, home or away, you have a job to do, you want to finish it and you want to do it well.”

–Field Level Media

The reigning American League West champion Seattle Mariners have finally moved atop the division.

Their reward is a series against the hottest team in baseball.

The Mariners will play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game interleague series beginning Friday night. The Diamondbacks have won five in a row and 10 of their past 11 games.

The Mariners are coming off a three-game sweep of the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif., to take a half-game lead over the A’s in the division.

Seattle outscored the A’s 22-4 in the series, including a 9-1 victory Wednesday as Rob Refsnyder and Julio Rodriguez hit three-run homers and Logan Gilbert pitched six scoreless innings.

“Heck of a series, and (Wednesday) was kind of an exclamation point,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “This is as good as we’ve played all season long and as consistent as we’ve been.”

Refsnyder, signed in the offseason to combat left-handed pitching, was batting just .113 going into the game but homered in the first inning to get the Mariners going.

“The timing is great,” Gilbert said. “Being a resilient team is stuff we talk about, but to go out there and actually do it, and against a good team that was in first place at their place, that’s exactly how we wanted the series to go. All the way around – offense, defense – I think everybody’s on a good page right now.”

The Diamondbacks finished off a three-game sweep of host San Francisco with a 3-2 victory Wednesday.

Former Mariner Paul Sewald earned the save, the 100th of his career and his 14th in 15 opportunities this season.

The 36-year-old Sewald wasn’t sure he’d get another shot after appearing in just 22 games for Detroit and Cleveland last season.

“I wasn’t even healthy enough to throw (much) last year, so a lot of (my thought) was just, am I going to get to play again? Because I’m getting older, and I wasn’t healthy,” Sewald said. “… I’m just fortunate to be out there pitching, really, is what it comes down to.”

The Diamondbacks’ recent run, all against Colorado and San Francisco, has taken them from below .500 to tied atop the National League’s wild-card standings.

“Those aren’t the best two teams in the league, but, you know, you’ve got to beat the teams you’re supposed to beat,” Sewald said.

Sewald said he’s excited to head back to Seattle against a Mariners club many predicted in the preseason to meet the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

The Mariners remain without catcher Cal Raleigh (right oblique strain) and third baseman Brendan Donovan (left groin strain).

“No Cal, no Donovan, you know, that’s a little different for (the Mariners),” Sewald said. “They won’t be at full strength, where we’re getting healthier and we’re getting better. But they’re a really good team, they play really well at home. It’s a tough, loud environment, so it’ll be a good test. We feel good. We feel good about playing anybody in this league.”

Friday’s series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers in Arizona’s Zac Gallen (3-4, 4.80 ERA) against Seattle’s George Kirby (5-4, 3.54).

Gallen, who has won his past two starts after losing his first three in May, is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in two career appearances against the Mariners.

Kirby, who has lost his past two starts, has made one previous appearance against Arizona, pitching seven shutout innings with two hits allowed and 12 strikeouts in a 3-1 victory April 27, 2024 at T-Mobile Park.

–Field Level Media