The Atlanta Braves have accomplished plenty through the first two months of the regular season. The first team to reach 40 victories will look to add a three-game sweep of the host Cincinnati Reds to the list on Sunday afternoon.

With its 5-2 series-clinching win on Saturday, Atlanta climbed to a season-high 21 games over .500.

The second-highest scoring offense in baseball (312 runs, behind only the Washington Nationals’ 320) has posted 23 runs across the last three games, with Ronald Acuna Jr. connecting on four homers in that span.

“When he gets going, he’s one of those guys who almost makes the game look easy,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said of Acuna. “We’ve all seen him when he’s going good, and he’s one of the best there is.”

Acuna had hit just two home runs through his first 42 games prior to the recent power stretch.

Spencer Strider (3-0, 3.46 ERA) will look to continue his unbeaten streak to open the season in his sixth start of the year for Atlanta. Strider earned his second consecutive victory on Tuesday, tossing five innings of three-run, three-hit ball, striking out five and walking three in a 7-6 road victory over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

“Spencer was good. He’s given us a chance to win virtually every time out,” Weiss said after Strider’s last start.. “He’s using his secondary stuff. I think he’s becoming more of a complete pitcher. He made those adjustments last year. He’s done a nice job for us.”

Since making his season debut on May 3 following a stint on the injured list with a left oblique strain, the 2023 All-Star has struck out 32 batters in 26 innings.

In three career appearances (two starts) against the Reds, Strider is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA.

Cincinnati will be looking forward to turning the calendar to June. The Reds have dropped three straight and are 9-17 in May with one game remaining.

Nick Lodolo (1-1, 5.57) will make his fifth start for the Reds after spending the first six weeks of the season on the shelf with a blister on his left index finger.

After allowing 12 runs across his first three starts of the year, Lodolo produced his best performance last time out. The 28-year-old left-hander yielded just one run across six frames, striking out seven in a 7-2 win over the New York Mets on Monday.

“He worked ahead, he threw a lot of strikes, had good velocity, threw some changeups,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said of Lodolo’s stellar outing. “That was really welcome.”

For Lodolo, who sported a career-best 3.33 ERA in 29 appearances (28 starts) last season, he hopes that showing was a sign of things to come.

“It was definitely a lot better, for sure,” Lodolo said. “There’s definitely some things I’ve got to do a better job of, but overall, I’m happy with it.”

Lodolo has faced Atlanta once in his career, scattering two runs and five hits across six innings while striking out seven in a no-decision on May 8, 2025. The Reds lost 5-4 in 11 innings.

–Field Level Media

Connor Wong hasn’t seen much action of late behind the plate for the Boston Red Sox, so he has to maximize every opportunity he receives.

Thanks to his big game Saturday, the Red Sox have a chance at earning a rare series victory against the host Cleveland Guardians.

Boston will send left-hander Ranger Suarez (2-3, 3.02 ERA) to the mound against Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee (0-7, 4.57) on Sunday, seeking its sixth series triumph in 19 sets this season.

Wong drove in three runs, including the go-ahead double in the sixth inning, and had a pair of hits for the Red Sox in a 9-1 win. It was just his third start at catcher in a 22-day span as Mickey Gasper and Carlos Narvaez have taken most of the playing time.

“Just a really, really good performance by a guy who hasn’t played much,” Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Don’t forget, he also had a rocket in the second that (Daniel Schneemann) made a great play on in center. Most days, that falls for a double here.”

Wong finished 2-for-5 with a run and was able to wear the Red Sox’s prized Wally the Green Monster mascot head for the first time, only to have a replay review by crew chief John Tumpane take away the home run that earned him the privilege.

The 30-year-old’s double in the sixth was initially called a homer, which would have been his first since 2024, but the MLB command center ruled the ball had struck the yellow line atop the fence before hitting the guardrail.

“It sucks that was taken away,” said Wong, who is a .442 hitter with five homers and 12 RBIs in 13 career games against Cleveland. “I still think it was a homer. I wish I could have appealed it myself. But any time you get the win, it feels great.”

Wong played a significant role defensively as well, as winning pitcher Sonny Gray allowed only one run in six innings and credited him for calming him down after a rough first inning.

“He’s great back there,” Gray said. “I was happy for him with the way he played today.”

Suarez has either been terrific or terrible in his first 10 starts for Boston, giving up four or more runs in four of them — and one total run in the other six outings. He was rocked for a season-high five runs in a loss to the visiting Atlanta Braves in his last game on May 26.

In three career appearances against Cleveland, all as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, Suarez is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA.

The American League Central Division-leading Guardians have endured a historically bad first two months from Bibee. His low point occurred on May 25, giving up a franchise record-tying five homers in three innings during a 10-2 loss to the visiting Washington Nationals.

“I thought it was a lack of execution, and we just haven’t seen that from Tanner,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “It was a tough one, just a lot of mistakes over the middle. He didn’t have much. That was it.”

Bibee went exactly five innings in both of his previous games against Boston, going 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The Red Sox have worked him for four walks and struck out only five times.

A roster move could be in the offing for the Guardians, who are now without two starting outfielders. Left fielder Angel Martinez is scheduled to have an MRI after exiting Saturday’s game with left foot inflammation in the fifth inning.

Center fielder Steven Kwan, a multiple-time Gold Glove winner in left, remains on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. Stuart Fairchild was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take his place and went 0-for-2 with a throwing error on Saturday.

–Field Level Media

The New York Mets pitched well, fielded well and hit in the clutch Saturday afternoon.

Now New York has to find out if that’s its recipe for a path back into contention, or just another tease in a frustrating season.

The Mets will look to earn their second sweep on Sunday afternoon, when they host the Miami Marlins in the finale of a three-game series between the National League East clubs.

Nolan McLean (2-4, 4.40 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against fellow right-hander Janson Junk (3-5, 4.80).

Christian Scott collected his first career victory Saturday, when he tossed five innings of one-run ball to lead the Mets to a 6-1 win.

The win was the third straight for the Mets, who remain in last place in the NL East at 25-33, a half-game behind the Marlins.

The Mets broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, when Mark Vientos hit a two-RBI double off the left field wall and Marcus Semien had a run-scoring single. The multi-run inning was the third in the last two games for New York, which had just three multi-run frames while losing six of eight from May 20 through Wednesday.

A pair of potential Marlins rallies on Saturday were snuffed out by right fielder Carson Benge and center fielder A.J. Ewing, who robbed Kyle Stowers and Otto Lopez of extra-base hits with running catches at the warning track in the fourth and fifth.

The Mets, who spent the offseason emphasizing “run prevention,” have a fielding run value of minus-five runs per Baseball Savant.

“You continue to stay positive, you continue to trust your players that at some point they’re going to come through,” New York manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s just good to see some of the guys here playing with some confidence, playing loose and having fun and picking each other up.”

The loss continued a frustrating stretch of inconsistency for the Marlins, who were retired in order three times in the final four innings by four Mets relievers.

“That’s how it goes — they made plays today,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “You try to get a good pitch to hit, you put a good swing on it and, after that, there’s not a whole lot that’s within your control.”

The Marlins have dropped four straight following a four-game winning streak. Miami has been limited to one run in three of the defeats and has scored four runs or fewer 19 times in 28 games.

The loss also ensured the Marlins will fall to 2-7 in series play this month despite winning at least one game in every set before facing the Mets. Miami suffered its lone sweep this season from April 10-12, when the Detroit Tigers took three straight in Michigan.

McLean took the loss in his most recent start last Monday, when he gave up seven runs over 3 1/3 innings as the Mets fell 7-2 to the visiting Cincinnati Reds. The 24-year-old rookie has allowed 16 runs (13 earned) over nine innings in his last two starts as his ERA has risen from 2.92 to 4.40.

Junk earned the win last Monday after allowing one run over five innings in the Marlins’ 8-2 victory over the host Toronto Blue Jays.

McLean has never opposed the Marlins and Junk has never faced the Mets.

–Field Level Media