Braves sweep Rockies as Jonah Heim powers offense, Strider returns to rotation

Jonah Heim supplied the loudest swing of the afternoon and the Braves kept finding answers, beating the Rockies 11-6 at Coors Field to complete a three-game sweep. Heim homered, doubled and drove in five runs, Jorge Mateo also went deep, and Atlanta continued to score in waves rather than lean on one star for all the damage.

The bigger development for Atlanta was Spencer Strider’s season debut. After missing the first month-plus with a left oblique strain from spring training, Strider took the ball and worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out six and walking five. He threw 87 pitches, a clear sign that the Braves were watching his workload closely even as they welcomed him back into a rotation that can change the shape of their season.

Strider’s return mattered beyond the box score because it gave Atlanta another front-line arm to pair with a lineup that can survive when the stars are not all available. Ronald Acuña Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list before the game with a strained left hamstring, yet the Braves still manufactured offense through the order. In a three-run fifth, Austin Riley delivered an RBI single, Eli White drew a run-scoring walk and Matt Olson added a sacrifice fly to push Atlanta ahead for good.

Colorado kept swinging, but the Rockies could not match Atlanta’s depth. Mickey Moniak homered twice, and TJ Rumfield finished 3 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs, but Kyle Freeland took the loss after giving up six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Aaron Bummer earned the win in relief after covering one inning and allowing two runs, another reminder that Atlanta had enough on this day to absorb some uneven pitching and still control the result.

The sweep lifted Atlanta to what one report described as its best 35-game start since 1892, an eye-catching marker that reflects more than a hot week in Denver. Strider was not dominant, but his presence immediately raises the Braves’ postseason outlook, and the lineup’s ability to score without depending on Acuña alone makes the roster look more resilient than ever. If Strider sharpens his command, Atlanta will not just be winning games like this one, it will be building the kind of October profile that makes a club dangerous.