Brock Holt became the first player in the majors to hit for the cycle this season, while Mookie Betts finished a homer shy as the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 9-4 on Tuesday.
Holt stepped up with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning needing a triple for the cycle and delivered, lifting a fly ball that landed near the warning track in right-center field. He slid into third base without a throw.
The triple plated Rusney Castillo and capped a three-run inning against Sugar Ray Marimon that made it 9-2. Alejandro De Aza and Castillo drove in runs earlier in the frame.
Atlanta got two back in the top of the ninth on RBI doubles from Pedro Ciriaco and A.J. Pierzynski, but Koji Uehara struck out Freddie Freeman with runners on second and third to end it.
Holt, who drove in two runs and scored twice, became the first Boston player to hit for the cycle since John Valentin in 1996.
Wade Miley (6-6) allowed two runs on five hits and matched a season high with eight strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings for the Red Sox.
The victory snapped Boston's season-long seven-game losing skid and made it five straight starts without a win for Atlanta's Julio Teheran.
Teheran (4-3) was hit around for six runs on 13 hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Holt and Betts started things off in the top of the first with consecutive doubles to account for Boston's first run. David Ortiz then walked, Xander Bogaerts singled and Betts scored to make it 2-0 as Pablo Sandoval grounded into a double play.
Atlanta tied it in the fourth when Freeman doubled in Cameron Maybin and scored on a Nick Markakis grounder.
The Braves' bats went cold after that, and Boston again solved Teheran in the sixth. Betts led off with a triple and scored when Bogaerts legged out an infield single. Later, Sandoval and Mike Napoli came in on De Aza's double to left that increased the lead to 5-2.
Holt went opposite field for his second home run of the season in the seventh inning.
[SportsNetwork.com]
