What to remember from the Braves’ victory against the Yankees

The Atlanta Braves got their road trip off to a great start by finishing off a series win with a 3-1 win over the New York Yankees on Sunday. The win moved Atlanta back to 11 games above .500 with a 43-32 record. They remain seven games behind the Phillies in the NL East standings and currently hold a five-game advantage for the first Wild Card. The next stop on the trip will be in St. Louis where they will begin a three-game series against the Cardinals on Monday. Before we get there, here are some takeaways from the win against the Yankees.

Interleague success

Sunday’s victory improved the Braves’ record in interleague play to a majors-best 22-11 for the season. Although the Braves have faced American League opponents this season, they have always struggled against the Yankees. Atlanta is 21-27 against the Yankees since interleague play began in 1997. Somewhat surprisingly, Atlanta is 14-13 at Yankee Stadium since 1997. The series victory was their first in the Bronx since 2012.

The left combo continues to dominate

Chris Sale set the tone in the series opener on Friday and Max Fried continued his dominance on Sunday. Sale allowed one hit, one run and struck out eight in five innings in the opener. The only hit-and-run he allowed came on a misplay in left field by Adam Duvall. Since allowing eight runs in four innings against the Athletics on June 1, Sale has allowed a combined five runs in his last three starts and 19 combined innings. He had 25 strikeouts and six walks during that span.

Fried made it through Sunday’s game before running into trouble in the sixth. With a run and runners on first and second, Fried allowed Alex Verdugo to ground into a key double play late in the inning. His final line was excellent as he allowed six hits and one run along with four strikeouts in six innings. Fried leads the National League and is second in the majors with a 60.6% ground ball rate.

Home runs

The Braves scored again in Sunday’s win, giving them 19 points in their last nine games. They are currently ranked 13th in the majors with 85 for the season. The Orioles lead the majors with 125 home runs. The Yankees rank second with 115. Atlanta beat New York 6-2 in the series.

Jarred Kelenic flourishes in the lead

Jarred Kelenic went 1-for-3 on Sunday and had a hand in two of Atlanta’s three points on the afternoon. He hit his seventh home run of the season in the third inning to give the Braves an early lead and extend his hitting streak to 10 straight games.

With Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris sidelined due to injuries, Atlanta needed Kelenic to step up and he delivered. Since taking the No. 1 spot on June 15, Kelenic is 11-for-34 with two doubles and three home runs.