ATLANTA — One swing from Kris Bryant erased the four-run lead the Atlanta Braves built.
After Chicago Cubs starter Zach Davies put his team in a bad spot by allowing four runs in the first inning, Bryant’s grand slam in the third tied the score and gave the Cubs a fresh shot at securing a series-opening win.
But twice Cubs pitchers failed to deliver a shutdown inning after the offense tied the game. Freddie Freeman’s three-run homer in the fifth off right-hander Brandon Workman proved to be the difference in the Cubs’ 8-7 loss.
The Cubs put the tying run on base in the ninth with Bryant’s two-out walk. Ian Happ, dropped from the leadoff spot in an effort to get him going, hit into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
The Braves feasted on attacking Davies’ changeup, especially low in the zone, to take a 4-0 lead in the first. Three of their run-scoring hits came off his changeup.
Davies again struggled to limit free passes, walking four Braves in 3⅔ innings. It represented the fourth time in five starts this season that Davies tallied at least three walks. His 15.0% walk rate is a career worst. In the previous five years, his highest was 7.6% in 2019.
