 scuffled a bit, at least compared to the high standard he set this season, allowing season highs of three runs and seven hits and striking out five in 6 2/3 innings. He began the game with a 1.07 ERA that, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was the third-best since 1913 by a pitcher 21 or younger in his first eight starts.Soroka's baserunning helped stir the Braves' offense as Atlanta rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the two-run fifth. After Ozzie Albies singled, Soroka sped up his run to the bag on a bunt attempt when pitcher Daniel Norris threw errantly to first. Though he was initially called out, Soroka was ruled safe on Atlanta's successful challenge.Acuna followed with a run-scoring single up the middle, and the 6-foot-5 Soroka advanced all the way to third. He scored on Dansby Swanson's forceout to give the Braves a 4-3 lead.Riley's eighth homer in 16 career games put Atlanta up 6-3 in the sixth and chased Norris (2-4).The Tigers led 1-0 on Brandon Dixon's RBI single in the first, marking just the fifth hit Soroka had allowed against 45 batters with runners in scoring position.Soroka failed to hold a one-run lead in the fourth, giving an infield bloop single to Norris, who advanced to third when Niko Goodrum doubled off the left-field wall and both runners scored on Christin Stewart's opposite-field single to left.The Braves led 2-1 in the fourth when Freeman hit his 14th homer, a 390-foot shot that glanced off the second level of the right-field stands.Detroit, with the AL's lowest-scoring offense, cut the lead to 6-4 in the seventh on Goodrum's RBI triple. Swanson got the run back in the bottom half of the inning with his 11th homer.Braves closer Luke Jackson earned a five-out save, his eighth overall this season in 12 chances.Norris allowed six hits, one walk and six runs - five earned - and struck out four.TRAINER'S ROOMTigers: 1B Miguel Cabrera was held out of the lineup as the team waited on MRI results of the slugger's right knee. Cabrera, a two-time AL MVP and 11-time All-Star, left in the sixth inning of Friday's win over Atlanta. He has dealt with knee soreness since spring training.Braves: CF Ender Inciarte, sidelined the last 16 games with a lumbar strain, threw for the first time since going on the injured list May 15. Manager Brian Snitker said it's too early to tell when Inciarte will begin a rehab stint.MORE SOROKAAmong pitchers 21 or younger since 1913, only Fernando Valenzuela, with a 0.50 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981, and Vida Blue, with a 1.02 ERA for the Oakland A's in 1971, were better than Soroka through their first eight starts. He also was attempting to become the first pitcher since 1920 to begin a season with nine straight starts of one earned run or fewer allowed. Edison Volquez, with Cincinnati in 2008, and Mike Norris, with Oakland in 1980, each had eight. Soroka was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on April 18.UP NEXTTigers: LHP Matthew Boyd (5-4, 2.85 ERA) will make his 13th start this season and first career appearance against Atlanta. Boyd has pitched 12 consecutive scoreless innings in going 1-0 over his last two starts.Braves: RHP Julio Teheran (3-4, 3.53 ERA) will make his 13th start and second career start against Detroit. Teheran went 1-0 with a 0.98 ERA in five starts last month.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Tigers likely to be without Cabrera against BravesFLMThe Detroit Tigers finally showed some pop while winning three straight games but a new issue has cropped up. They may have to go without their most accomplished hitter for a while.First baseman Miguel Cabrera left Friday's 8-2 win at Atlanta with a swollen right knee. He's unlikely to play the remainder of the three-game series, including Saturday afternoon's matchup."All of a sudden, (hitting coach) Lloyd (McClendon) came over to me and said, 'Miggy needs to get out of the game. His knee's bothering him. He can't push off right now,'" manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He was fine before the game and now we're going to get him checked out." Leadoff hitter and utility man Niko Goodrum carried Detroit's offense on Friday with his first career five-hit game, including two solo homers.The fact that his big night only raised his average to .230 shows how much the switch-hitter has struggled this season."It just gets down to plate discipline, not trying to do too much," Gardenhire said. "We know he's a swinger. He likes to swing. He's got a nice swing from both sides and he hits the ball hard." Tigers left-hander Daniel Norris (2-3, 4.18 ERA) will start Saturday's game. Detroit has lost six of his last seven starts, though Norris has given up two earned runs in three of his last four outings.He lost to Baltimore on Monday during a 5 2/3-inning stint in which he gave four runs (two earned) on six hits.Norris doesn't often overpower hitters, so he must rely on a mixture of four-seam fastballs, two-seam sinkers, changeups, sliders and curveballs. He could throw harder early in his career before injuries forced him to alter his approach."I needed to stop focusing on the velocity and realize that I could get hitters out at this level with what I have," Norris told the Detroit News. "It's forced me to learn how to pitch." He has two career starts against the Braves, going 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA.Rookie right-hander Mike Soroka (5-1, 1.07 ERA) will start for the Braves, and he has not given up more than one earned run in eight appearances this season. In his last outing (May 25), he held St. Louis to two runs (one earned) on five hits in six innings while recording five strikeouts.Soroka's 1.07 ERA is the third lowest through the first eight starts of a season for a player 21 years old or younger dating to 1913. Fernando Valenzuela (0.50 in 1981) and Vida Blue (1.02 in 1971) are the only pitchers that age who had lower ERAs through eight starts."Ultimately, you want to limit damage in big innings," Soroka told MLB.com. "You just want to make good pitches when there's guys on and hopefully, balls are put in play to the right guys." Off the mound, Soroka tries not to tinker too much or think about what he did right or wrong."A lot of it is getting away from baseball more than I would previously," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "It helps you take the mound with a clear mind every fifth game, whereas you don't want to get to June or August and you're tired of baseball. So I've done a better job of shutting down away from the field, separating a little bit, and staying happy and intense on the mound." --Field Level Media
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