Atlanta Braves vs Houston Astros Box Score on May 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 9, 2017

HOUSTON -- Charlie Morton carried a shutout into the sixth inning, and the Houston Astros hit three home runs in an 8-3 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.

Carlos Correa, Carlos Beltran and Josh Reddick all homered in support of Morton (4-2), who won a third consecutive start. Correa and Beltran hit their fourth and third home runs, respectively, in the first inning before Reddick followed with his fourth homer into the Astros' bullpen in the fifth inning.

Houston (22-11) drilled all three long balls off Braves right-hander Bartolo Colon (1-4), who allowed eight runs on eight hits with three strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

Morton allowed three runs (one earned) and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out five.

Morton faced just three batters over the minimum through five innings before allowing three runs in the sixth.

Following an error by Correa at shortstop, Morton gave up RBI singles to Matt Kemp and Nick Markakis for the first two runs. He exited after issuing a bases-loaded walk to Dansby Swanson.

Right-hander Chris Devenski emerged from the bullpen and struck out Danny Santana with the bases loaded to end the threat.

The Braves (11-19) have dropped five games in a row and seven of eight.

The Astros pounced swiftly in the bottom of the first inning with a sequence of hard-hit balls at Colon that might have knocked out a less experienced pitcher.

Houston opened the game with three straight singles and took a 1-0 lead on Altuve's RBI hit. Following the singles, Correa and Beltran supplied significantly more power.

Correa drilled a 1-0 pitch 438 feet to straightaway center field for his fourth homer, extending the Houston lead to 4-0. Beltran followed with a 428-foot blast into the first row of the upper deck in right field as the Astros secured a five-run lead before Colon recorded an out.

Colon steadied himself quickly, and retired 10 consecutive batters before Astros catcher Brian McCann reached on an error with one out in the fourth.

It wasn't until Reddick belted his 100th career home run with one out in the fifth that the Astros found the scoreboard again as they took a 6-0 lead.

NOTES: The Braves acquired INF/OF Danny Santana from the Minnesota Twins on Monday in exchange for LHP Kevin Chapman and cash considerations. Santana was in the starting lineup and went 0-for-4 while playing left field. ... The Astros activated RHP Michael Feliz from the family medical emergency list to replace RHP Dayan Diaz, who was optioned to Triple-A Fresno on Sunday. Diaz did not appear in a game with Houston following his selection to the roster on May 5. ... The Braves optioned OF Lane Adams to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday and transferred INF Micah Johnson (fractured right wrist) to the 60-day disabled list. Adams appeared in nine games for the Braves.