Travis Demeritte hit his first big league homer in nearly three years to carry the Braves to a much-needed 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

Demeritte stepped into the box and lined an opposite-field drive off Marcus Stroman into the Chop House restaurant in right to break a 1-all tie in the fifth inning.

Demeritte also made an impressive catch in right field to back another strong outing by Max Fried (2-2), who pitched four-hit ball over six innings to outduel Stroman (0-3).

Following up his best showing of the season in a win at the Dodgers, Fried's only big mistake was a changeup that Ian Happ launched into the left-field seats leading off the third to tie the game at 1.

The World Series champions won for only the third time in their last eight games. The Cubs have lost six of seven.

Everyone was raving about Demeritte, who was a first-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2013 but has struggled to stick in the big leagues.

His most extensive experience came in 2019, when he hit what had been his only three big league homers while with the Detroit Tigers.

This is his second stint with the Braves organization, but most of that time has been spent in the minors.

Will Smith, Tyler Matzek and Kenley Jansen finished up for the Braves with one scoreless inning apiece. Jansen earned his fifth save in five chances.

A former infielder, Demeritte showed off his skills in right field to make a nice sliding catch in foul territory to end the fourth.

Mark Leiter Jr. (0-1, 11.05 ERA) is off to a rough start in his return to the big leagues after three full seasons away. He has surrendered eight hits, six walks, two homers and nine earned runs over 7 1-3 innings.

Charlie Morton (1-2, 6.33) is looking to get back on track after giving up nine earned runs, 15 hits and six walks over 10 1-3 innings in his last two starts.