Braves 5, Reds 4: Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Ervin Santana remained unbeaten as host Atlanta held on to win the series opener.

Upton connected off Homer Bailey (1-2) to stake the Braves to an early 3-0 advantage while Freddie Freeman finished with three hits. Santana (3-0) allowed four runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings and Craig Kimbrel pitched around a hit and a walk in the ninth for his seventh save as Freeman corralled Chris Johnson's wide throw - barely keeping his foot on the first-base bag - for the game’s final out.

Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto finished with two hits each for the Reds, who lost for just the fourth time in the past 12 games and lost third baseman Todd Frazier and catcher Devin Mesoraco to injuries. Bailey settled down after a sluggish start, surrendering five runs on nine hits in six innings.

The Braves started quickly against Bailey, scoring five runs in the first three innings. Upton followed singles from B.J. Upton and Freeman with his blast to left-center field, his sixth of the season, and RBI singles from Jason Heyward in the second and Evan Gattis in the third made it 5-0.

Cincinnati scored twice in the sixth and pulled within 5-3 on Billy Hamilton’s two-out double in the seventh, and Joey Votto’s single off reliever Luis Avilan plated Hamilton to bring the Reds within 5-4. David Carpenter replaced Avilan and got Phillips to fly out to right to end the inning, and replay upheld the out call on Votto’s grounder to end the game.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Frazier left the game in the fifth with tightness in his left leg and Mesoraco strained his left hamstring in the seventh. … Freeman’s first-inning single snapped a 0-for-15 skid. … The Braves improved to 9-0 when scoring first.