It didn't take long for the Atlanta Braves to reassert their dominance following Saturday's 3-2 defeat to the Boston Red Sox. They beat the Red Sox 8-1 in Sunday's rubber match, clinching their third straight series victory.

Starting pitcher Grant Holmes earned the win and is now 3-1 after tossing six scoreless innings, allowing five hits with four strikeouts against one walk. The 30-year-old tossed 58 strikes out of just 87 pitches and now has four quality starts in nine appearances this year.

Holmes didn't allow a runner in scoring position until Jarren Duran doubled in the third inning, but the latter player never advanced past second base. Ditto for Willson Contreras after doubling in the fourth, and Boston never got another man past first for the remainder of the hurler's outing.

Holmes now has a 3.80 ERA this season, which is around his usual level. The 6-foot, 226-pounder has a 3.93 career ERA out of 56 outings (36 starts) since debuting in 2024.

Sunday's game exemplified Atlanta's pitching depth, as Holmes turned in an ace-like outing despite being the No. 4 starter. The club has star southpaw Chris Sale (6-3, 1.96 ERA), 2023 All-MLB First Teamer Spencer Strider (1-0, 2.45 ERA), and 2023 All-Star Bryce Elder (4-2, 2.01 ERA) at the top of its rotation, respectively. 

Considering that the Braves' offense is also elite, it's no wonder why they top MLB with a 32-15 record.

Atlanta's lineup had its highest-scoring performance in two weeks on Sunday, and it didn't take long for it to get hot. Third baseman Austin Riley broke the ice with a three-run homer in the first inning before catcher Drake Baldwin walked in a run in the second. First baseman Matt Olson then hit an RBI groundout in the same frame before right fielder Mike Yastrzemski hit a solo homer in the fourth to make it 6-0.

Designated hitter Dominic Smith followed up with an RBI single in the fifth before Baldwin hit a sacrifice fly to make it 8-0 in the eighth. Smith continues to be one of baseball's biggest surprises this year, as he's slashing .344/.341/.511 despite having a career slash line of .253/.317/.409 since debuting in 2017.

The Braves now rank second in baseball with 250 runs scored and have allowed the fewest runs (152). They're also eight games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East.

Up next is a road series against the Miami Marlins starting on Monday at 6:40 p.m. ET.