Atlanta Braves at Baltimore Orioles

The early days after Ronald Acuña Jr. landed on the injured list saw the first-place Braves spiral into a June swoon. Ever since July arrived, though, they’ve emerged as a more battle-hardened group. That continued on Sunday, when Austin Riley hit an 11th-inning RBI double after Matt Olson turned a game-saving double play in the 10th in a gutsy 3-2 victory over the Orioles for a series win at Camden Yards. “After a rough June, grinding through that and coming out the other end and still being in first place, it’s going to serve us well in the long run,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “You make deposits into the bank of mental toughness when you do things like that. And winning games like this is the same type of deal. It hardens you. And that’s what postseason baseball looks like.” Dominic Smith had two RBIs and three hits earlier in the contest as Atlanta survived a rare and unlucky bullpen implosion, improving to 7-3 since the All-Star break and 13-9 in July. And after Atlanta’s NL East lead dwindled to 2 1/2 games following a 5-12 finish to June once Acuña hit the IL, the club’s lead was back to six, with the second-place Phillies hosting the Yankees Sunday night. The 2023 NL MVP might return from his left hamstring strain in the Braves’ next series at the Mets that starts Monday night. “We’ve got a chance to see Ronnie in New York,” Weiss said of Acuña, who did not play for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”