Atlanta Braves Use Big Fifth Inning To Beat Pittsburgh Pirates

The Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates played game two of a three-game set on Tuesday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

After taking game one against the Pirates on Monday night, the Atlanta Braves came into game two as winners of twelve of their last fourteen games and just three games behind the N.L. East-leading New York Mets.

With the Braves playing arguably their best baseball of the year, the Pirates’ offensive struggles, and a pitching matchup that featured Max Fried and J.T. Brubaker, all signs pointed to another Braves win on Tuesday night.

J.T. Brubaker had other ideas.  The Pirates starter was locked in early as he gave up just one hit while striking out six Atlanta hitters through his first four innings of work.

For his part, Max Fried was outstanding through four innings as well, his lone mistake turned into a Michael Chavis solo home run, and the game would head to the fifth inning with the Pirates leading the Braves 1-0.

The Atlanta offense woke up in the fifth.  Travis d’Arnaud got the inning going by taking Brubaker’s first offering of the frame into the left-field seats tying the game at one.

The Braves weren’t done there as d’Arnaud’s homer was the first of six consecutive hits to open the fifth inning and when the dust settled the Braves had built a 5-1 lead, which was more than enough for Fried to lock up a series win for the Atlanta Braves.

The Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Tuesday night.

This game turned from a pitcher’s duel to a stress-free win in the top of the fifth.  It was a very odd inning for J.T. Brubaker as he faced 9 batters, gave up five runs on six hits, but only threw a grand total of twenty pitches.

The Braves followed Travis d’Arnaud’s lead and jumped on Brubaker early in the count repeatedly, putting up a crooked number with the five-run frame.

On the flip side, Max Fried was dominant throughout.  Fried retired the first four hitters he faced, surrendered the Chavis home run, and then proceeded to turn away the next sixteen Pirates hitters in a row before allowing a Ben Gamel single with two out in the seventh.

Max was effective and efficient on this night, tallying only 77 pitches through his first seven innings.  Fried would end his night with eight innings pitched, surrendering just one run on three hits and striking out seven.

More good news is also on the horizon for the Braves as Ozzie Albies made the trip to Pittsburgh with the team and is taking part in baseball activities again as he works his way back from a fractured foot.

When Albies went down with the foot injury on June 13th, it seemed like his absence was going to be a hole that the Braves would struggle to fill.  But Orlando Arcia played admirably before going down with injury himself, leaving the door open for the MLB debut of the latest of a seemingly endless steam of talented Braves’ rookies, Vaughn Grissom.

Grissom picked up three more hits tonight and scored another run, his fourteenth in his first fourteen Major League games.

Albies’ eventual return is going to give Brian Snitker a problem every manager would love to have, having more talented players than he has starting jobs.

The Braves and Pirates will hook up for the final time in the 2022 season on Wednesday when Kyle Wright and Mitch Keller lock horns as Atlanta looks to complete the season sweep of the Pirates. First pitch is scheduled for 12:35 pm EDT.