Braves 5, Cubs 2: Andrelton Simmons homered twice and Freddie Freeman belted a two-run shot among his three hits as visiting Atlanta clinched the National League East.
Washington’s loss to Miami earlier Sunday helped the Braves secure their first division title since 2005, and Atlanta took care of the Cubs thanks to Freeman’s first-inning blast and Simmons’ homers in the fourth and eighth. Julio Teheran (13-8) allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings while Craig Kimbrel yielded two hits but struck out three in the ninth en route to his major league-leading 49th save.
Chicago starter Edwin Jackson (8-17) gave up three runs on eight hits in six-plus innings. Dioner Navarro, whose eighth-inning single Saturday fueled the Cubs’ comeback victory, singled home a run in the first.
Freeman launched a long homer over the right-field bleachers two batters after Jason Heyward led off the game with a single. Navarro halved the deficit with his single to right that scored Anthony Rizzo, but Simmons’ drive into the basket along the front row of the left-field seats pushed Atlanta’s advantage to 3-1.
Simmons added a two-run shot to center in the eighth. Atlanta's Chris Johnson went 0-for-4, dropping his average to .329 – two points behind Colorado’s Michael Cuddyer for the NL batting lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Braves won their 17th division title since divisional play started in 1969. … Teheran won for the third time in his last four starts. … Chicago finishes the season with three home games against Pittsburgh and three at St. Louis. The Braves return home to play three against Milwaukee and four versus Philadelphia.
Atlanta | Chi. Cubs | |
Julio Teheran | Player | Edwin Jackson |
Win | W/L | Loss |
6.0 | IP | 6.0 |
7 | Strikeouts | 6 |
4 | Hits | 8 |
1.50 | ERA | 4.50 |
Atlanta | Chi. Cubs | |
Freddie Freeman | Player | Darwin Barney |
3 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
6 | TB | 2 |
.600 | Avg | .667 |