Kyle Wright dominant again as Braves top Padres, 5-2

Kyle Wright tossed the best game of his young career, Adam Duvall delivered a clutch two-run double in the eighth, and the bullpen was stellar as the Braves defeated the Padres by a score of 5-2.

The Braves struck first tonight as Ozzie Albies launched a no-doubter to left in the third inning off MacKenzie Gore, who was impressive in his big league debut. In the fourth, Austin Riley doubled to begin the frame and Marcell Ozuna dropped one down the line to push the lead to 2-0.

In what has become a continually frustrating theme, Wright fell victim to some awful luck in the fifth. Following a hit by pitch and stolen base — which would have been avoided with a decent throw from Travis d’Arnaud — Ha-Seong Kim blooped a ball into center field to cut the score to 2-1. Following yet another strikeout, Manny Machado came to the plate and dropped a ball in front of a diving Orlando Arcia, which scored Kim all the way from first. Both baseballs were hit a paltry 74mph off the bat. And both plated runs.

Despite the bad luck, Wright was stellar once again in his second start of the year. He struck out a career-best nine hitters and did not walk anyone. His changeup was unhittable, and he diced up hitters with his slider and curve. It seems he may have finally turned the corner after years of ups and downs.

In the eighth, the Braves’ bats finally broke through. Riley and d’Arnaud singled to put runners on the corners with two outs, and Adam Duvall ripped one down the left field line to make it 4-2.

Duvall came around to score on a wild pitch, pushing the score to 5-2.

Kenley Jansen worked a perfect ninth inning, striking out two as he picked up his first save with the Braves. As a unit the bullpen (Minter, O’Day, Matzek, Jansen) tossed four perfect innings with seven strikeouts, no walks and just one hit allowed.

The series continues in San Diego tomorrow afternoon as Ian Anderson will look to right the ship against Nick Martinez. First pitch at 4:05 p.m. ET. The game will be nationally telecast on Fox Sports 1 in addition to local channels.