The Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves continued their four-game series from PNC Park on Wednesday night. This series has been competitive thus far, even though these two teams are heading in different directions. Tonight’s game would be another close one as the Atlanta would hold off Pittsburgh in the ninth to earn a 6-5 victory.
The Braves jumped out to a four-run lead by scoring four runs in the first four innings. An RBI single by Michael Harris II got them on the board in the second. Sean Murphy would do the same in the third inning. Ronald Acuna Jr. would hit an RBI double and Ozzie Albies came through with an RBI single in the fourth.
The Pirates would plate four runs in the bottom half of the fourth to tie the game. An infield single by Jared Triolo got them their first run. Endy Rodriguez would score on a Alika Williams ground out for run number two. Ke’Bryan Hayes continued to swing a hot bat and drove in a pair on a single to center.
Atlanta jumped back on top with an Albies RBI single in the sixth. That lead would not last long as Hayes would go yard to tie the game at five in the seventh. Austin Riley would plate the winning run for the Braves in the eighth on a sac fly to score Harris II.
Quinn Priester would last just four innings tonight. He would allow four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Angel Perdomo pitched 1.1 innings and during that time he would give up one run on two hits to go along with four strikeouts. Colin Shelby was next out of the pen and he would cover 1.2 innings. He struck out three batters, walked one, and allowed two hits. Carmen Mlodzinski was dealt the loss after giving up one run on two hits with two walks and one strikeout in the eighth. The ninth belonged to Jose Hernandez who would strikeout two and walk one during that time.
Atlanta starter Max Fried also pitched just four innings. He gave up four runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Collin McHugh would cover the next 2.2 innings and give up one run on one hit while striking out four. Pierce Johnson earned the win by pitching .2 of an inning, allowing a hit and collecting one strikeout and a walk. A.J. Minter replaced him and pitched .2 of an inning, striking out one batter. Raisel Iglesias picked up his 22nd save after allowing two hits and striking out a pair.
It is nice to see Pittsburgh play a team like the Braves tough, but it sure would be nice to pull out a win in these close games. The fourth and final game of this series will take place on Thursday afternoon at 12:35pm. The Pirates will look for a series split and send Bailey Falter to the bump, while Atlanta will look to win the series with Bryce Elder on the mound.
Record vs. Braves: 1-2
Record vs. N.L. East: 8-8
Record at Home: 27-30
Overall Record: 51-63
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
