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