Harris' two-run double beats Colorado 2-1, Braves make it six straight

The Braves spent seven innings looking like a team that had already won five in a row. Then Michael Harris II doubled home two in the eighth, Atlanta won 2-1, and the streak became six.

Martín Pérez went 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run. Didier Fuentes closed it for save No. 3. The Braves are 81-55, five up on the Phillies, and tied with the Dodgers for the second NL bye. Sunday's 1:35 p.m. ET finale at Truist Park is a series they already control.

Harris, Olson, Dubón — two outs, two runs

Matt Olson started the eighth with a two-out single. Mauricio Dubón followed with another. Harris doubled to left off Jaden Hill, scoring both. Dubón ran through Tommy Watkins' stop sign at third and scored easily when the throw went to second.

That was Atlanta's only multi-run inning. Six hits total. Harris finished 2-for-4 with both RBIs — his 32nd double and RBI Nos. 76 and 77. After Friday's 22nd homer, the center fielder is the reason this offense has stopped looking stuck.

Walt Weiss: "Offense can win your games. But over the long haul, the pitching is what's foundational to your success. We pitched really well and the bullpen was once again outstanding."

Pérez, then the bullpen did the rest

Pérez (season ERA 3.05 over 26 appearances, 22 starts) struck out six, walked two, and left with the game 1-0 Colorado after Willi Castro's two-out RBI single in the sixth. Brent Suter took it from there: 2 1/3 scoreless, the win, and a double play. Fuentes worked the ninth.

Ronald Acuña Jr. made a running backhand in the eighth. Dubón had already robbed a ball in the first. The Rockies went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.

Since the day after the Aug. 3 deadline, Braves starters own a 2.94 ERA — first in the National League, fourth in the majors. Mark Bowman's August snapshot: Tyler Mahle 1.52, Pérez 1.80, Chris Sale 2.00, Grant Holmes 3.04, Bryce Elder 4.50. The club got roasted for adding only Mahle. The last three weeks have not looked like a rotation that needed a rental ace.

Down in Chattanooga, a Braves name next to Andruw Jones

Same night, Double-A Columbus beat Chattanooga 7-3, and Eric Hartman — Atlanta's top prospect, MLB's No. 42 — became the first minor leaguer since Andruw Jones in 1995 to post 25 homers and 50 steals in a season. He already had the 25 homers. He singled in the ninth at Erlanger Park, stole Nos. 50 and 51, and scored on an Alex Lodise hit.

Hartman was a 20th-rounder in 2024. He hit five homers in 83 Single-A games last year. This season he reached 20 homers and 30 steals by July 1. Jones did 25-56-100 for Class A Macon in 1995 and debuted the next year. Nobody is handing Hartman a Truist locker in September. The company he just joined is not a participation trophy.

Bird Gang bottom line

Friday was the loud night. Saturday was the grown-up one — Pérez through 5 2/3, Harris with two outs, a five-game East lead that refused to shrink. Sweep the Rockies this afternoon and the calendar stays friendly. The elbows from Friday are still gone. The rotation that is actually here keeps answering.

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