Acuña, Olson Make Pirates Pay in Seventh; Braves Win it 5-2

It was a tightly contested game, but the Pittsburgh Pirates dropped game three to the Atlanta Braves after a late surge in the seventh inning by Ronald Acuña Jr. and company.

In addition, the Braves rallied in the seventh with two outs and no one on in the seventh. Before the Braves series, the Pirates had won three straight series in-a-row.

Recap:

Bryan Reynolds worked the count to 1-1 in the sixth inning. Rookie Allan Winans hung a sinker down the middle, and Bryan Reynolds made him pay. Reynolds drove that ball to right field at 104.4 mph. 

With Bae’s speed, the Pirates drew first blood and led it 1-0. 

With two outs in the inning, the Pirates had Jack Suwinski coming up to the plate with Reynolds at second. Suwinski went first pitch swinging and replaced Reynolds with an RBI double of his own. 

The Pirates led 2-0.

Ortiz rolled through his start against the Braves. Ortiz didn’t allow the Braves to get a hit until the fourth inning when Matt Olson singled on a grounder to Ji-Hwan Bae. 

 The Braves scored their first run of the game in the sixth inning. Ozzie Albies grounded into a fielder’s choice, Austin Riley singled, which gave way to Ryan Borucki coming in for Ortiz. 

 Borucki’s first pitch was a wild pitch that hit the backstop, allowing the runners to move up to second and third. Matt Olson grounded out softly to Bae, allowing Albies to score easily. The Braves cut the Pirates lead in half as they trailed 2-1.

 After the Olson groundout, Marcell Ozuna turned over on a ball to Jared Triolo, and that officially closed the book on Ortiz’s outing for the Pirates. 

 Ortiz’s final line read 5.1 innings pitched, three hits, one run, two walks, and no strikeouts.

Key Moment:

In the bottom of the seventh, the Braves stormed back.

Borucki stayed in the game to get Eddie Rosario to strike out before Pirates manager Derek Shelton called upon Colin Selby to close out the seventh.

Selby got Travis d’Arnaud to ground out, with Orlando Arcia approaching the plate. Arcia walked, and Michael Harris II singled with the ever-dangerous Ronald Acuña Jr. coming to the plate.

Selby hung a sinker right down the middle, and Acuña blasted a two-RBI single, giving the Braves a permanent 3-2 lead. In addition, the Acuña’s single went 402 ft.

Olson added extra salt to the wound as he hit a two-RBI single and was the eighth man to bat in the inning.

Star of the Game:

Ronald Acuña Jr.

Stat of Interest:

The Pittsburgh Pirates drop the season series to the Atlanta Braves 3-4

Noteworthy:

• Ortiz has now gone three straight games for the Pittsburgh Pirates with at least 5+ innings pitched and two or less runs scored.
• Ke’Bryan Hayes now owns a seven-game hitting streak.

Up Next: 

The Pittsburgh Pirates (66-77) travel back home for a seven straight games at home. Their first series will begin with the Washington Nationals (64-78). The Pirates haven’t announced a starter for Monday, but they will go up against Patrick Corbin (9-13, 5.23 ERA)