Rome starter Jeremy Walker and two relievers limited the Lexington Legends to five hits as the Braves took a 5-1 win Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series in Rome.
The Braves opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Carlos Martinez led off with a single, moved to second on a balk, to third on a ground out, and scored on a single by Kurt Hoekstra.
The Legends tied the game with an unearned in the fourth, but Rome answered with two in the bottom of the fourth. Cristian Pache and Martinez started the inning with singles, and both scored on a two-out triple by Leudys Baez, giving the Braves a 3-1 lead.
Pache drove in a run with a base hit in the bottom of the fifth, and the Braves scored their final run in the seventh on a triple by Anthony Concepcion and a ground out by Jordan Rodgers.
Hayden Deal (1-0), who relieved Walker at the start of the fifth inning, was the winning pitcher. He allowed one hit in four innings.
Legends starter Nolan Watson (1-10) took the loss.
Game two of the series will be played Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
