Cowser’s 2-run homer in the 8th gives Baltimore its 6th straight victory, 4-2 against Atlanta.

(AP) – Colton Cowser hit a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles won their sixth straight game by beating the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Cade Povich pitched six scoreless innings in his second big league outing for Baltimore, but Atlanta tied it when Matt Olson hit a two-run shot off Keegan Akin (2-0) in the eighth. Cowser responded with a shot to right center from Joe Jiménez (1-2) that cleared the wall despite an impressive effort from center fielder Michael Harris II.

“I thought he stole it at first,” Cowser said. “Really glad it’s over.”

Cowser came in as a defensive replacement in right field in the top of the eighth, with the Orioles leading 2-0. After Olson’s homer, he made a nice catch in the corner on foul ground. Then came his only chance at the plate.

“I knew if I went into the game, I was going to be at bat,” Cowser said. “The coaches in the tunnel did a great job, they kind of gave me an idea of ​​who I was going to face.”

Craig Kimbrel had a perfect ninth against the franchise he is most associated with, earning his 16th save in 19 opportunities.

Atlanta has lost five in a row for the first time since 2017 – the last year the Braves did not win the NL East. They entered Wednesday night 10 games behind first-place Philadelphia.

Povich allowed five hits with no walks and struck out six. The 24-year-old lefty was called upon last week to help out a Baltimore staff that lost John Means and Tyler Wells to season-ending injuries. These issues haven’t slowed the Orioles down much lately. They have allowed nine points during this six-game stretch.

Baltimore scored two in the third against Spencer Schwellenbach. Cedric Mullins hit a leadoff double, and Jorge Mateo singled and stole second. Mullins headed home Gunnar Henderson’s field. When Adley Rutschman hit a grounder to first, Olson’s throw was weak and went past catcher Sean Murphy. Mateo scored to make it 2-0.

Povich allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings in his Toronto debut. He allowed a few singles to start the fourth against Atlanta, then struck out Austin Riley and got out of trouble on a few grounders. The Braves had two more hits in the sixth, but did not score. They left 18 men on base in the first two games of this series.

“No walks at night for our entire pitching staff,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “No walk for Cade Povich. That’s something we talked about a lot with him late in the spring, about command and the importance of controlling your fastball and being able to land offspeed in the number of fastballs for strikes. And he did all that tonight.

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