Mike Yastrzemski walks off Red Sox, lifts Braves to 3-2 extra-inning win

The Braves continued to look like one of the hottest teams in baseball Friday night.

Atlanta got a pair of home runs before outfielder Mike Yastrzemski delivered a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting the Braves to a 3-2 win over Boston at Truist Park.

Yastrzemski lined an opposite-field shot into the gap off Red Sox left-hander Tyler Samaniego, scoring the automatic runner from second base to seal the victory.

“It was one of those moments where walking back to the plate after fouling off a second one, it’s like, ‘Hey, it’s time to buckle up and you got to do something now,’” Yastrzemski said.

Rookie left-hander Connelly Early took the mound for Boston and battled command issues early in the outing. The southpaw needed 26 pitches to navigate the first inning, and Braves designated hitter Drake Baldwin made him pay by crushing his 12th home run of the season with one out. It marked Baldwin’s sixth homer this year against a left-handed pitcher. The Braves franchise record for most home runs by a left-handed hitter against left-handed pitching in a season is 11, set by David Justice in 1993 and matched by Fred McGriff in 1996.

Early’s difficult opening inning continued when he hit Ozzie Albies with a pitch before Austin Riley singled with two outs. He ultimately escaped further damage when Michael Harris II popped out to end the frame.

Harris got to Early again in the fourth inning, leading off the frame with his eighth homer of the season. The blast marked Harris’ first home run since May 1, when he came off the bench to hit a go-ahead ninth-inning homer at Coors Field.

The rookie completed five innings while allowing just the two solo home runs. He surrendered five hits, struck out six, and did not issue a walk.

After throwing 26 pitches in the opening inning, Early regained control and finished the night with 61 strikes on 86 pitches, good for a 71 percent strike rate.

“Couple solo homers, but outside of that he did a fantastic job,” Chad Tracy said. “He didn’t want to come out.”

The left-hander wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was in his previous outing against Tampa Bay at Fenway Park, when Early retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced in a 2-0 shutout victory.

Even without his best command Friday night, however, Early managed to keep Boston within striking distance.

After beginning his major league career without allowing a home run through his first 39 1/3 innings, Early has now surrendered seven home runs over his last 35 innings spanning six starts.

Unfortunately for Boston, the lineup continued to squander offensive opportunities.

Braves right-hander Spencer Strider didn’t have his best command either, throwing strikes on just 59.5 percent of his 84 pitches. He allowed three hits and three walks while striking out four, but the Red Sox managed to score only once against him, and that came in the final inning of his outing.

Boston put a leadoff runner aboard in five of the first six innings and also drew a one-out walk in the second inning, yet repeatedly failed to capitalize.

Jarren Duran opened the game with a walk but was later picked off first base to end the inning. Two innings later, he grounded into an inning-ending double play after Carlos Narváez worked a leadoff walk.

“The big thing tonight was careless mistakes on the bases more than anything,” Tracy said.

Mickey Gasper also reached to begin the fourth inning with a single but was thrown out attempting to steal second base by former Red Sox World Series champion catcher Sandy León.

“I think he thought he heard batted ball, that’s why he slowed up and stopped and ended up getting thrown out there,” Tracy said of Gasper’s steal attempt. “Today we ran into some outs. And if you want to go and take some chances, you are going to – today we ran into some outs.”

Gasper was disappointed by the play, “I just slowed up a hair and tried to find it. By the time I looked, it was too late. I think if I’m just head down running, I’m probably in there.

“I don’t know why I thought it was the crack of the bat. It was just a loud pop in the catcher’s glove. It can’t happen. That one was a big one. Got to let Willson hit here.”

Rafaela led off the fifth inning with a ground-rule double, but Boston once again erased its own opportunity when León threw him out attempting to steal third base.

“I was trying to get to third with less than two outs and got caught there. I thought it was a perfect throw from Sandy,” Rafaela said.

Tracy made it clear after the game that Rafaela still has the freedom to run whenever he sees an opportunity.

The speedy outfielder, however, has struggled on the bases this season, converting just 2-of-6 stolen base attempts after going 20-for-25 in 2025.

“There’s guys that are green,” Tracy said. “If they’re green, they can go. But there’s also spots where you just want to pay attention to it. On the flip side, he can be safe there.”

Narváez then opened the sixth inning with a double, marking Boston’s fifth leadoff baserunner of the night.

After Strider struck out Caleb Durbin, the Braves turned to the bullpen. It appeared the Red Sox were about to squander another chance when left-hander Dylan Lee struck out Duran for the second out of the inning.

But Gasper came through in a big spot. The switch-hitter lined an RBI single through the left side of the infield, finally cashing in one of Boston’s early opportunities and cutting Atlanta’s lead to 2-1.

Two innings later, Marcelo Mayer delivered another clutch swing.

With two outs in the seventh inning, the rookie shortstop launched a 378-foot solo homer to tie the game at 2-2. It was Mayer’s second homer of the season, joining the memorable three-run blast he hit during Boston’s home opener.

With Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock unavailable, Tracy was forced to piece together the bullpen creatively. Greg Weissert gave Boston quality innings, retiring all four batters he faced. Jovani Morán followed by recording five outs while striking out three. Aroldis Chapman then preserved the tie with a perfect ninth inning.

But for the second consecutive day, Samaniego was tagged with the loss. The rookie left-hander threw only five pitches before Yastrzemski ended the game in the 10th inning.

Boston also continues to have a major issue at the top of its lineup with Duran struggling badly. Tracy has continued to pencil the speedy outfielder into the leadoff spot, but Duran’s hitless streak reached 18 at-bats Friday night. Dating back to May 5, Duran is hitting just .081 (3-for-37) with 12 strikeouts and only two walks over his last nine games.

Meanwhile, Atlanta continues to look every bit like baseball’s best team.

The Braves improved to 31-14 overall and 15-7 at home with the victory.

Since sweeping the Tigers earlier this month, the Red Sox have gone just 2-5 and fell to 18-26 overall.

Boston will look to snap its two-game losing streak Saturday night when rookie left-hander Payton Tolle (1-2, 2.78 ERA) takes the mound against Braves breakout right-hander Bryce Elder (4-1, 1.81 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET.