Spencer Horwitz Powers Pirates Past Braves; Not Once But Twice!
Spencer Horwitz belted a pair of home runs and collected four RBI for the Pittsburgh Pirates in their 9-3 win over the Altanta Braves at Truist Park on Friday night.
How We Got There
Matt Olson hit a solo homer off Mitch Keller in the bottom of the first inning to give the Braves (75-85) a brief 1-0 lead.
Tommy Pham’s two-run home run in the top of the second sparked a four-run inning. Henry Davis later drove home Nick Yorke with a base hit to center and Nick Gonzales drove in Davis with a single later in the inning.
After Michael Harris II cut the lead in half with a solo home run in the sixth, Horwitz put the Pirates (70-90) ahead 5-2 with a 403-foot home run to right-center.
Drake Baldwin singled home a run in the seventh off Isaac Mattson, but the Pirates’ reliever prevented any further damage.
The Pirates got the run back in the top of the ninth when Nick Gonzales reached on an infield single and Jared Triolo scored on a throwing error from second baseman Nick Allen. With two men on later in the inning, Howtiz belted his second homer of the game to right field.
Key Moment
Mitch Keller walked the bases loaded in the third but with the Pirates up by three runs but struck out Ha-Seong Kim and got Harris to bounce out.
Player of the Game
Spencer Horwitz recorded the fourth multi-homer game of his career and reached base in all five trips to the plate.
Stat to Know
Bryan Reynolds has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games at Truist Park. After going 2 for 5 on Friday night, he’s batting .446 (29 for 65) during that span.
Notable Performances
- Mitch Keller: 3.2 innings, three hits, one run, five walks, six strikeouts, 89 pitches/51 strikes
- Spencer Horwitz: 3 for 3, two home runs, four RBI, three runs, two walks
- Tommy Pham: 1 for 5, one home run, two RBI, one run
- Henry Davis: 2 for 4, one RBI, one run, one steal
- Nick Gonzales: 2 for 5, one RBI, one run
- Nick Yorke: 2 for 4, one run
- Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 5
Noteworthy
- Henry Davis was hitting just .062 (4 for 65) with runners in scoring position this season prior to his RBI single in the second.
- With the win, the Pirates have won five of their last six games after dropping 12 of 13.
- Pittsburgh out-hit Atlanta 14-8.
- The game was delayed in the seventh inning due to rain.
Up Next
RHP Bubba Chandler (3-1, 4.56 ERA) will start for the Pirates on Saturday night. The Braves will send out RHP Spencer Strider (7-13, 4.45 ERA). First pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET.
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