Harris' single in 12th lifts Braves over Orioles 3-2

ATLANTA — Michael Harris II couldn't wait to get into the batter's box after the Baltimore Orioles chose to intentionally walk Marcell Ozuna and pitch to him.

“I was having some good at-bats all game," Harris said. "So to see them walk Ozuna and want to have to face me, it kind of put a fire in my you-know-what. I got up there first pitch and tried to hit something hard and I did.”

Harris hit a game-ending double off Cionel Pérez in the 12th inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat Baltimore 3-2 on Sunday to stop the Orioles' streak of seven consecutive winning series.

Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. brought a roar from the sellout crowd of 40,800 at Truist Park in the 11th when he caught Adam Frazier’s 322-foot flyout and made a one-hop throw to third baseman Austin Riley, who tagged Austin Hays for a double play.

“When you're playing defense you're doing everything you can to keep the other team from scoring runs,” Acuña said via a translator. “Obviously that's what happened. I'm always anticipating for the runners to go so I just try to make the throw, make the play and they get themselves out, I guess."

Harris' fly off Pérez (1-1) scored Ozzie Albies as the Braves won two of three from Baltimore, which lost consecutive games for the first time since April 8-9.

“Just two tough games,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “I thought we really fought well, played hard. We had opportunities today and let a few get away unfortunately.”

Atlanta at 24-11 matched its best 35-game start, in 1969, 1997 and 1998.

The 12 innings tied the longest game in the major leagues this season, Seattle vs. Cleveland on April 9 and Minnesota vs. the Chicago White Sox on May 4.

Michael Tonkin (3-1) pitched two perfect innings.

Braves starter Bryce Elder gave up one run, four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.74 with his 12th straight outing with at least five innings.

“He never gave in, that's for sure,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “That club is rough, man. I called them annoying the other day. Their bats are so good from top to bottom and that bullpen is really, really good.”

Baltimore’s Tyler Wells gave up one run and three hits in five innings.

Matt Olson hit his 10th homer, an opposite-field shot to left in the first that sailed 413 feet.

“That's a great lineup and a really good club,” Hyde said. “We had a chance to win last night and chance to win multiple times today, so we're obviously disappointed.”

Ramón Urías had an RBI groundout in the fourth and Anthony Santander's run-scoring single gave Baltimore a 2-1 lead in the 10th. Sam Hilliard scored on Félix Bautista's wild pitch in the bottom half.

CANO

Baltimore setup man Yennier Cano, who didn’t allow a hit until his 12th inning of the season, faced the minimum in the eighth and ninth to keep his ERA at 0.00. The hard-throwing right-hander has struck out 19 in 17 innings over 12 games.

STREAKS END

Acuña went 0 for 5, stopping a 25-game on-base streak that dated to April 9. It was the second-longest active streak in the majors, but his outfield assist was the fourth he's had this year to rank second to Philadelphia's Nick Castellanos with five. .... Mountcastle went 0 for 5, ending a 15-game on-base streak.

STILL HUMMING

Orioles C Adley Rutschman walked as a pinch hitter in the sixth and has reached base 63 times this year, second-most in the majors to Acuña (69).

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: Hays returned to the lineup and went 1 for 4 after missing the previous four games with an injured finger.

Braves: SS Orlando Arcia was reinstated from the injured list and went 1 for 4. He missed 21 games with a microfracture in his left wrist. SS Vaughn Grissom was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

UP NEXT

Orioles: RHP Kyle Gibson (4-1, 4.61 ERA) will be on the mound as Baltimore opens a three-game home series against Tampa Bay in a showdown of the AL East's top two clubs.

Braves: RHP Charlie Morton (3-3, 3.38 ERA) will face RHP Nick Pivetta (2-2, 4.99) as Boston visits Truist Park on Tuesday to begin a two-game series.

__

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports