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Yankees' offense explodes for 20 runs against Braves

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

After scoring 18 runs in the first two games of a series against the Atlanta Braves, the New York Yankees took the finale in style.

Jacoby Ellsbury, Chase Headley, and Stephen Drew all hit two-out homers as the Yankees cruised to a 20-6 victory at Turner Field that saw all nine members of the starting lineup score a run.

That included starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, who reached base on an unsuccessful bunt that led to a force-out at third, but was brought home by the Drew homer in the next at-bat. Eovaldi allowed five earned in five innings, but can thank the offense for helping improve his 2015 record to 14-2.

Another nice moment for Yankees fans saw Bryan Mitchell come out to make the final four outs of the game less than two weeks after being struck in the face by a line drive. The right-hander was cleared of concussion symptoms on Friday.

The Yankees are just the third team to score 20 runs twice in a single season since 2000 after beating the Texas Rangers 21-5 in July. The 2000 Oakland Athletics accomplished the feat, and the Philadelphia Phillies did the same in 2008.

"Every game that we're playing now is important," Headley said after the game. "You win the first two, you give yourself a chance. We were able to come out and win today, which was big. You focus on winning every series. That's the goal. But when you sweep, that's the best-case scenario."

The win keeps New York 1 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East and their gap on the Rangers for the first AL wild-card spot at four games. They begin a series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Monday.

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