Rookie Jared Shuster, ranked as Atlanta's No. 1 pitching prospect, earned his first major league victory on Sunday as the Braves beat the visiting Seattle Mariners 3-2 in the rubber game of their three-game series.
Shuster (1-2), hastily moved into the rotation when the Braves lost top-line starters Max Fried and Kyle Wright to prolonged injuries, produced the best start of his young career. In his fourth appearance, the left-hander went six innings and allowed one run on one hit, one walk and a career-high seven strikeouts.
The Atlanta bullpen finished off the win. Collin McHugh pitched a scoreless seventh inning, Nick Anderson allowed a run in the eighth and Raisel Iglesias worked a perfect ninth, striking out two, to earn his third save.
Seattle starter George Kirby (5-3) pitched seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits, one walk and six strikeouts.
The Braves scored a run in the first inning. Ronald Acuna Jr. singled -- he's now hitting .524 (22-for-42) when leading off a game -- and scored on Matt Olson's double. Atlanta has scored 18 runs this season within the first 10 pitches of the game, the most in the majors. Atlanta has scored 37 runs in the first inning.
The Mariners tied the game in the second inning when Jarred Kelenic homered, his ninth. It was the only hit given up by Shuster.
Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the third when Eddie Rosario lined a single to center field to score Olson.
The Braves added another run in the sixth when Travis d'Arnaud hit his first homer of the season, a 419-foot blast to left-center field.
Seattle cut the lead to 3-2 in the eighth inning when Jose Caballero hit his first major-league homer, a solo shot to left field.
J.P. Crawford went 0-for-4 and saw his consecutive streak of reaching base end at 16 games.
Seattle went 4-5 on its 11-day, nine-game road trip and returns home to start a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics. The Braves begin a three-game home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday.
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