Demeritte, Fried lead Braves to needed win, 3-1 over Cubs

By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA (AP) — Travis Demeritte hit his first big league homer in nearly three years and made a sliding catch to back another strong outing by Max Fried. That gave the Atlanta Braves a much-needed 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The reigning World Series champions won for only the third time in their last eight games. The Cubs have now lost six of seven. Fried pitched four-hit ball over six innings. His only big mistake was a changeup that Ian Happ took deep leading off the third. Demeritte broke up a 1-1 tie in the fifth with a homer into the Chop House restaurant off Marcus Stroman.