Okay, so Thursday afternoon’s rubber match against the Pirates was looking like it was gonna go down to the wire for the Braves. They’d been leading since the first inning, even stretching it to a 6-2 lead by the fourth. But Pittsburgh kept chipping away, and suddenly, going into the ninth, Atlanta was clinging to a scary 6-5 lead.
Olson Cranks One Out, Jarvis Makes His Mark
But then Mike Yastrzemski stepped up, delivered a two-out grand slam, and suddenly, everyone could breathe. That pushed the Braves to a 10-5 win at PNC Park, keeping their closer, Raisel Iglesias, on the bench. Classic Braves offense, right? It was all about the long ball, with three homers lighting up the scoreboard. Matt Olson started the party in the top of the first, launching a monster shot to right off Pirates starter Mitch Keller. That was Olson’s 25th of the season, and get this, it happened on the same day he tied Dale Murphy’s franchise record for consecutive games played, hitting 740. Atlanta tacked on two more in the third with Ozzie Albies’ RBI double and Mauricio Dubón’s RBI single, but the Pirates weren’t just gonna roll over.
Elder Labors, Bullpen Steps Up
The Pirates got two runs back in the bottom of the third, with Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez going back-to-back off Braves starter Bryce Elder in just three pitches. But the Braves fired right back with a three-run fourth. Yastrzemski worked a 10-pitch walk, then Jim Jarvis absolutely sparked the inning with his first career homer, a two-run shot to right. Drake Baldwin made it 6-2 with a two-out RBI single. Jarvis had a crazy day, finishing a triple short of the cycle with a double and a single for his first three-hit game, heck, his first multi-hit game in the majors! Baldwin was 2-for-4, and the Braves offense racked up 11 hits, with eight of their nine starters getting one. Keller, the Pirates starter, lasted only three innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Elder, on the other hand, had a tough outing. After stranding two runners in the first two innings and giving up those back-to-back jacks in the third, he got tagged again for a two-run homer by Jake Mangum in the fourth. Elder finished giving up four runs, three of them earned, on five hits over four innings. He struck out three and walked two. He didn’t get the win, but at least he snapped a three-game losing streak.
Dodd Gets the Win, Mederos Closes It Out
Dylan Dodd grabbed the win, moving to 2-0 after a quick 1-2-3 fifth before a weather delay hit. That delay must’ve fired up the bullpen, because they had to cover five innings and they delivered. JR Ritchie walked a leadoff guy in both his innings but only gave up one run, thanks to Danny Young who snagged a double play to get out of a seventh-inning jam. James Karinchak also walked a leadoff batter in the eighth but stranded him at third, big thanks to a sweet play by Olson at first. After Yastrzemski’s blast, Victor Mederos came in for the ninth. He gave up a leadoff single, but then retired the next three batters, two of them by strikeout, to seal the series win. This is only the Braves’ second series win since they swept the Pirates back on June 5-7. They’re looking to keep that momentum going and make it two series wins in a row before the All-Star break. Next up, they’re heading to St. Louis, with the first game kicking off Friday night at 8:15 EDT on Apple TV. You gotta tune in, see if they can keep this thing rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.
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