ATLANTA -- Winning ugly can sometimes feel plenty satisfying.

Just ask Alex Verdugo, who made a lot of sloppiness by his team vanish with one swing.

A three-run homer to center by the fiery outfielder with two outs in the top of the eighth snapped a tie and led the Red Sox to a 10-8 victory over the Braves at Truist Park on Tuesday night.

• Box score

This was a game the Sox led 5-0, only to have it whittled to 5-4. It was a game they led 7-4, only to have that turn into a 7-7 tie.

In the end, the grind of the night became worthwhile when Verdugo hit a fly ball that just kept carrying … and carrying. They used to call Atlanta’s Fulton County Stadium the launching pad because of that type of carry.

And the Braves’ latest home park -- which opened in 2017 -- played like that for the Red Sox on Tuesday. Rafael Devers (444-foot shot to center), Hunter Renfroe (435-foot blast to left-center) and Xander Bogaerts (424-foot rocket to left) joined Verdugo in the homer column.

“Off the bat, I knew I hit it well,” Verdugo said. “The ball just kind of kept carrying and I was fortunate to get it over the fence. The thought process behind that at-bat was, the at-bat before [in the sixth], I chased an offspeed pitch and hit it weakly to first base and my goal was just basically, let the ball get deep, let it travel, and try to stay up the middle as best I could.”

Verdugo unloaded on a high, 2-0 changeup by Braves righty Chris Martin and sent it flying at an exit velocity of 104 mph and a projected distance of 409 feet. It was Verdugo’s ninth homer of the season, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“He’s a good hitter,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, “he goes the other way, he drives the ball all over the place, he hits for average, he gets on base, he’s patient, he’s just a good hitter. And when he hit it, we thought he missed it, but it just kept going, kept carrying and it was huge for us.”

It was a nice pick-me-up for the weary Red Sox, who checked into their Atlanta hotel at roughly 4 a.m. ET after their walk-off win in Boston on Monday night. At 41-27, the Sox trail the Rays by two games in the American League East.

However, Cora was the first to admit that this wasn’t one of the better-played games of the season by his team. Eduardo Rodriguez once again had a flat start. In the sixth inning, the defense betrayed reliever Garrett Whitlock with two errors and also a passed ball by Christian Vázquez.

• Whitlock's Atlanta homecoming

“It was an ugly win, but it was a big league win,” said Cora. “We didn’t give up. We kept putting good at-bats, at the end the bullpen shut down the door, but it wasn’t pretty. We did a lot of bad things today on the field. We had a five-run lead and to go through our guys [in the bullpen] because of what happened throughout is tough.”

More trouble for E-Rod
Given that early lead, Cora had visions of sitting his high-leverage relievers during this grueling stretch of games, which finally ends after Wednesday’s contest in Atlanta with a much-needed respite on Thursday.

What frustrated Cora the most was that Rodriguez, who came into the season as the staff ace, had yet another sub-par performance as his ERA swelled to 6.21.

In the fourth, a three-run frame for Atlanta, Rodriguez didn’t take care of business when he walked pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza with two outs.

Up came the great Ronald Acuña Jr., who smashed a two-run double to cut Boston's lead to 5-4. It is hard for the Red Sox to figure out why Rodriguez can’t get better results.

“Right now, I don’t know,” Cora said. “Honestly, I think stuff-wise he’s good. The changeup was good, velocity was good, elevated fastball was good. He wasn’t able to finish them off in that spot and he needs to be more aggressive in that situation with the ninth hitter there with a pinch-hitter. And that walk put us in a bad spot.”

Rodriguez struck out Freddie Freeman to end the frame with his team still in front, but that was his last batter of the night.

“He had a five-run lead and you saw what happened,” said Cora. “He had the bottom of the lineup and didn’t do the job. I think early on, he established his fastball in. He did a good job. But then wasn’t able to execute.”

Over four innings, Rodriguez generated 17 swings and misses and had eight strikeouts. But he also gave up six hits and four runs.

“I don't feel good at all because I just went four innings. I'd prefer to go seven innings with no strikeouts than go four innings with eight strikeouts and give up four runs. I don't feel good at all with that,” said Rodriguez.

In four of his last five starts, Rodriguez hasn’t been able to pitch five innings. He has a 9.13 ERA during that span. E-Rod has given up four runs or more in six of his last seven starts.

“It's been tough, the last month and a half, to just go out there and give up runs and go back and forth every time,” said Rodriguez. “For me, my job is to go out there and put zeroes up there and go deep in the game to win the game.”

The Red Sox are winning plenty of games. But they are currently doing so despite their projected ace, instead of because of him.