CHICAGO (DA) — Curaçao’s Ozzie Albies broke through with a go-ahead two-run homer and finished with two hits as the Atlanta Braves rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 at Wrigley Field.
Albies went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, raising his season average to .245. His 22nd home run of the season came in the seventh inning off Jacob Webb and turned a 3-2 Atlanta deficit into a 4-3 lead.
The second baseman entered the game in an 0-for-9 stretch and had gone 3-for-36 over his previous 10 games. He quickly changed that against a Cubs team he has consistently hit well throughout his career.
Atlanta trailed 3-0 after four innings before Ronald Acuña Jr. pulled the Braves within a run with a two-run homer off Kevin Gausman in the sixth. Albies followed an inning later with the decisive blow, driving Webb deep with a runner aboard.
Drake Baldwin added another two-run homer in the ninth to give Atlanta breathing room. The Braves finished with nine hits, with Albies, Baldwin and Matt Olson collecting two apiece.
Marcell Ozuna Pérez earned the win after allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits over six innings. Raisel Iglesias worked a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save.
Albies entered the series with a .354 career batting average against the Cubs and had been even better at Wrigley Field, where he was hitting .371 in 89 career at-bats with seven home runs before Monday’s game.
The victory improved Atlanta to 89-63, while Chicago fell to 84-68.