Paul Maholm pitched very well in his Braves debut outside of two pitches. Unfortunately for him and Atlanta, those two pitches to Justin Maxwell were crushed a combined 800+ feet, propelling the Astros to a 3-2 win. The win for Houston was their fourth in 31 games, and first road win since mid-July.
Maholm tossed seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out eight. On the other side was Lucas Harrell, who worked six very strong innings. He scattered four hits and five walks, allowing just two runs to score.
Maxwell hit his first homer in the fourth inning. He took an inside, elevated fastball and turned on it nicely to make it 2-0. Dan Uggla tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with a two out, bases loaded single. Just minutes after Uggla tied it up, Maxwell smashed a hanging slider into the left field seats to make it 3-2.
The Braves went 1-2-3 in the seventh and eighth innings. Uggla was hit by a pitch in the ninth with one out, just to be erased quickly on a double play from Juan Francisco.
The two clubs will meet in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m.