ATLANTA -- If there were any lingering thoughts about possibly moving Huascar Ynoa to the bullpen, he erased them by constructing another masterful start and proving how valuable it is to have his bat in the lineup.

Ynoa highlighted a two-hit game with his first career home run, and he delivered another impressive start that enhanced the fun the Braves had while rolling to a 10-0 win over the Cubs on Wednesday night at Truist Park.

“He’s been so good for us all year,” Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “I’ve got to give him props for the hitting. I mean, he’s hitting the ball like 110 mph off his bat right now. It’s pretty impressive.”

Let’s list all that Ynoa did while helping the Braves claim a third straight win, improve their winning percentage to .500 for the first time since April 10 and move into a first place tie with the Phillies in the National League East.

• While recording nine strikeouts and allowing four hits over 5 1/3 scoreless innings, Ynoa touched 98.4 mph with his fastball and averaged 95.7 mph. He accounted for the game’s only four pitches clocked at 98 mph or higher.

• Produced a 109.3 mph exit velocity with his second-inning single off Kyle Hendricks. The only fair ball that was hit harder was a two-run homer that came off Austin Riley’s bat at 112.2 mph.

• Drilled a 397-foot homer off Hendricks in the fourth. The only ball hit farther in the game was Marcell Ozuna’s two-run homer that traveled a projected 453 feet, according to Statcast.

• Generated 18 swings and misses. No other pitcher who appeared in this game induced more than seven. The Cubs whiffed on 12 of the 28 swings taken against his slider.

“I worked so hard in the offseason,” Ynoa said. “This is kind of what I prepared for. Thankfully, we’re seeing the fruits of that labor now.”

Ynoa’s impressive performance allowed the Braves to further distance themselves from the frustration felt Sunday, when they totaled just one hit while getting shut out in both ends of a doubleheader against the D-backs.

“It just wasn’t our day on Sunday,” Freeman said. “That’s what good teams do. We put it right behind us. We have won three. Now, we’re back to .500. The bats are coming alive.”

Unfortunately for the Cubs, their pitchers have had to pay the price while facing an offense that was due to erupt. Some of Wednesday’s offensive highlights included:

• Freeman highlighted a four-hit night with a sixth-inning homer against Alec Mills’ 64 mph curveball. The reigning NL MVP then couldn’t stop laughing when he struck out against fellow first baseman Anthony Rizzo in the seventh.

• Riley began his own 4-for-5 night by hitting a two-run homer off Hendricks in the first. His OPS has improved from .451 to .843 since April 15.

• Ozzie Albies doubled and homered during his three-hit night. His first three-hit game of the young season moved his batting average from .187 to .213.

But long-standing memories of this night will center around Ynoa, who, according to Braves manager Brian Snitker, was whiffing while taking soft toss swings during Spring Training. This really shouldn’t be too surprising since he hasn’t hit regularly since his days of playing youth baseball in his native Dominican Republic.

Ynoa entered last week’s start against the D-backs hitless in five career at-bats. The 22-year-old hurler has since gone 4-for-5 with a double and a home run. He became the first Braves pitcher to record consecutive multi-hit performances since John Smoltz in July 2006.

“I definitely didn't feel like I was in a good rhythm yet [during Spring Training],” Ynoa said. “It was just one of those things where I just kept with it, kept working and really put some effort into my hitting.”

While the hitting made a cool story, Ynoa’s value is rooted in the contributions he has provided while surrendering two runs or fewer and completing at least five innings in four of his five starts. His success has allowed the Braves to overcome the fact Max Fried has been on the injured list for nearly three weeks and Mike Soroka will likely not be activated until the second half of June.

Coming out of Spring Training, there was reason to wonder if Ynoa could be a valuable reliever, considering he has always primarily been a two-pitch pitcher. But he’s proven he can navigate his way through lineups multiple times and he’s now toying more frequently with his changeup.

“A couple of guys actually got to first base and said that his slider was doing two different things,” Freeman said. “It was about two different pitches for him tonight. He had it working tonight. It was fun to be behind.”