Michael Harris II blasted a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Atlanta Braves rallied late to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6 in Denver on Friday night.

Matt Olson also went deep, while Austin Riley, Mauricio Dubon and Ronald Acuna had two hits each. Didier Fuentes (1-0) got the win in relief for Atlanta, which erased a six-run deficit and won for the fourth time in its last five.

Mickey Moniak homered among his two hits and Tyler Johnston also had two hits for Colorado, which has lost three of its last four.

The Braves, who trailed 6-1 after six innings, got a run in the seventh and then tied it in the eighth when Zach Agnos and Jaden Hill walked the bases loaded with one out.

Dubon tripled down the right field line to make it 6-5. Then came home with the tying run on Riley’s sacrifice fly.

Juan Mejia (0-3) walked Jonah Heim to lead off the ninth and Harris followed with his seventh homer of the season to give Atlanta the lead.

Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his fourth save.

The first six Rockies batters reached in the first inning against Grant Holmes, and 10 went to the plate in the frame. Edouard Julien led off with a walk, Moniak singled and Hunter Goodman drove in the first run with a double.

TJ Rumfield followed with an RBI single and Tyler Freeman’s bunt single brought home Goodman to make it 3-0. Johnston’s single loaded the bases, and Willi Castro grounded out to first base to score Rumfield. Freeman came home on Olson’s errant throw to the plate.

Moniak led off the second with his ninth home run of the season to make it 6-0 but Holmes settled down after that. He allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits and struck out four in his five innings.

Colorado starter Jose Quintana was sharp. He allowed just one hit until Olson’s homer in the fourth and scattered five hits over six innings.

–Field Level Media

The NBA handed out fines on Friday to New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels for their on-court altercation the night before.

Robinson was docked $50,000 and Daniels was fined $25,000. NBA head of basketball operations James Jones announced that Robinson’s figure was increased because of “an inappropriate post on social media in reference to the incident postgame.”

In the middle of the second quarter of the Knicks’ series-clinching 140-89 win in Game 6 of an Eastern Conference first-round series at Atlanta, Robinson and Daniels became tied up as they jockeyed for a rebound. The NBA wrote in a statement, “Both players escalated the altercation with Robinson continuing to aggressively pursue Daniels after the players had been separated.”

As other players came into the scrum, apparently looking to get the two main combatants away from each other, a referee was knocked down.

Robinson and Daniels were each given a technical foul and ejected from the game.

The Knicks advanced to face either the Boston Celtics or the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The latter two teams will play Game 7 in Boston on Saturday.

–Field Level Media

Houston Dynamo coach Ben Olsen wants a sharper offensive performance when his club hosts the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

The Dynamo (4-5-0, 12 points) have struggled to capitalize on possessions around the box, a trend that Olsen said must improve.

“We are a little toothless in our attack,” Olsen said. “We have to be a little more patient and balanced and figure out the final third.”

Houston lost 2-0 to Austin last Saturday, even though it held 53.9% of the possession. Prior to the loss at Austin, the Dynamo had won two straight matches by 1-0 scores but have been outscored 18-12 this season.

Guilherme Augusto leads the Dynamo with five goals and four assists.

“For 100 minutes a week, you’ve got to summon something, summon the best in yourself,” Olsen said. “And that’s the responsibility these players have and I have.”

Colorado (4-5-1, 13 points) will look to bounce back after a 3-1 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps last Saturday. Rafael Navarro tallied the lone goal, and the Brazilian forward leads the Rapids with seven goals and four assists. He also has 19 shots on target.

Navarro’s goal last week marked his 50th regular-season goal contribution in his fourth year with the club. He’s the eighth Colorado player to reach the milestone.

Rapids defender Keegan Rosenberry said the Rapids have to get off to better starts.

“From the first whistle, we have to show up as ourselves,” Rosenberry said. “We have to have that bravery and meet the demands of the game better.”

In the first matchup between the two teams, the Rapids rolled to a 6-2 home win over the Dynamo on April 11. Kosi Thompson and Navarro each scored a brace in that match. But since then, the Rapids have gone 0-2-1 in league play.

“We have to do the necessary dirty stuff to win games,” Colorado coach Matt Wells said. “Our football warrants that.”

–Field Level Media