Just as the offense seems to be finding it’s footing after an epic team slump, they lost another major piece to injury for an extended period, as Michael Harris has a grade 2 hamstring strain. The Braves have had brutal injury luck this season, with arguable the best batter and pitcher in the game out for the season, and missing significant time from Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy, and now Michael Harris. Nonetheless, the team looks like it may be turning a corner on the offensive end, as they put up nine runs on the Rays Saturday. They hit four home runs and could easily have had another, as Ramon Laureano was robbed in his Braves debut. Michael should be back sometime this season, so hopefully the team can chug along with improved offense and more of the same stellar pitching they have gotten so far. This team still has the talent to be a force in October if the non-Acuna and Strider pieces can be healthy for the playoffs.

Braves News

Michael Harris II was transferred to the IL Saturday morning, with Ramon Laureano getting the call-up in his place. It was revealed after the game that he has a grade 2 hamstring strain and is expected to miss roughly 4-6 weeks, judging by the average for that particular injury.

The Braves strung together their third straight complete team victory, with Charlie Morton putting together a strong start and the offense showing out with some power.

MLB News

Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto exited his start early with a tricep injury. That’s a hit to the Dodgers’ pitching staff that already has some injury questions.

Kris Bryant will continue to miss time with an internal oblique strain, continuing what has been a catastrophic free agent signing for the Rockies, and one that was already puzzling at the time of the deal.

Pirates’ Henry Davis will hit the 7-day concussion IL, replaced by Jason Delay for the time being.

The Phillies activated Brandon Marsh off the IL, after a roughly two week absence for the outfielder.

(AP) – Latif Blessing scored in the 89th minute to help the Houston Dynamo to 2-2 tie with Atlanta United on Saturday night.

Coco Carrasquilla chipped an entry — while Amine Bassi occupied a defender — to Blessing at the left corner of the 6-yard box for the finish to cap the scoring.

Griffin Dorsey played a volley, off a corner kick by Héctor Herrera, that ricocheted off the crossbar to Franco Escobar at the right corner of the 6-yard box for a header that gave Houston a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute. Escobar, a 29-year-old defender who spent his first four MLS seasons with Atlanta, has a career-high tying two goals this season and seven in his seven-plus year career.

Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan played a long pass and Daniel Ríos won the ball in the attacking third and back-heeled a pass to Luke Brennan on the right side of the area. Brennan slipped an low entry pass behind a defender to Thiago Almada, whose shot from point-blank range was parried by Clark but Ríos was there for the putback into an empty net to make it 1-1 in the 25th minute.

Xande Silva, from just inside the left end line, blasted a shot that slipped under the crossbar and inside the back post to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute.

Guzan stopped seven shots for Atlanta.

Steve Clark had three saves for Houston (6-6-5).

Atlanta (4-8-5) has just one win (a 3-1 defeat of Inter Miami on May 29) since a 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire on March 31.

The Dynamo outshot Atlanta 19-11, 9-5 on target.

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The Atlanta Dream were defeated 91-84 by the Indiana Fever for their second consecutive loss on Thursday night. The game was held at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis in front of a large crowd. For the Dream, it was another slow start for the team as they were again outscored in the first half 44-59.

“We got to start the game better. At the end of the day we can’t dig ourselves a hole like that, because it takes to much energy to try and come back. Especially with a team that shoot the 3 the way they shoot. They got up early, and we got to do a better job of starting those games,” said head coach Tanisha Wright.

“Defensively, we didn’t do a great job in the first half taking away their options when they got hot. [Kelsey] Mitchell got hot and obviously [Aliyah] Boston got hot, and we need to do a better job of that. But I think the second half we got a little bit back to ourselves, which is playing Atlanta basketball like we have the last two years.”

The Fever started strong, quickly establishing a lead in the first quarter. Led by the dynamic duo of Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana’s offense was firing on all cylinders. Boston, known for her aggressive approach in the paint and mid-range accuracy, scored a game-high 27 points along with 13 rebounds. Mitchell, the team’s floor general, orchestrated the offense with precision, contributing 24 points.

Despite the early deficit, the Dream responded with resilience. Rhyne Howard, continued her strong shooting as she tied her career high with six 3-pointers. She finished the game with 26 points. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, added 18 points and six rebounds to help keep the Dream within striking distance with her clutch shooting. It was Parker-Tyus 100th career game in a Dream uniform. She was a big part in why the Dream outscored the Fever 30-17.

The second half saw both teams exchanging baskets in a back-and-forth battle. Atlanta managed to narrow the gap to just 11 points in the third quarter, thanks to 14-6 run making the score 62-73. However, Indiana defense tightened up in the final minutes, forcing crucial turnovers and securing key rebounds.

The Dream will look to regroup and address their defensive lapses as they prepare for their next matchup against the Sparks on Sunday afternoon.