Pirates vs Braves Recap: Braves Top Pirates 6-3

The Pirates came to Atlanta looking to bounce back. They'd lost the night before and needed a win. But the Braves were rolling—they'd won two straight and had the best record in baseball at 44-21. Mauricio Dubon and Austin Riley lined up first for Atlanta. Ozzie Albies stepped up with two outs in the first inning and lifted a sacrifice fly to center. Ronald Acuña Jr. sprinted home. Atlanta led 1-0. Then Riley came up and crushed a double to left on a 98-mph fastball. Dubon raced in to score. Smith moved to third. Atlanta was cooking. The Braves led 2-0 after just one inning. Pittsburgh's pitcher Braxton Ashcraft was already in trouble.

The Pirates weren't going down without a fight. In the fourth inning, Nick Gonzales doubled to left off Spencer Strider's 82-mph slider. Bryan Reynolds came flying home. Pittsburgh had one. Then Tyler Callihan doubled to right and Gonzales scored. The Pirates tied it 2-2. But Atlanta answered right back in the fifth. Brandon Lowe hit a sacrifice fly for Pittsburgh to score Jared Triolo. Pirates led 3-2. Ashcraft was fighting hard on the mound. Then the Braves struck. Albies hit another sacrifice fly to right. Acuña Jr. scored. Then Dominic Smith stepped in and blasted a home run 351 feet to left field. Olson scored too. The ball rocketed over the wall. Atlanta led 6-3.

The game was decided. Atlanta led 6-3 after Smith's blast and that was enough. Ashcraft couldn't get out of the rough inning. His pitch to Smith had been a 97-mph fastball right down the middle. The Braves' bullpen was sharp after that. Yohan Ramirez and Mason Montgomery came in for Pittsburgh and kept Atlanta off the board. Dylan Dodd, Dylan Lee, Tyler Kinley, and Raisel Iglesias kept the Pirates silent. The Pirates couldn't catch up. They couldn't string together enough hits. Spencer Strider got the win for Atlanta. The Braves improved to 44-21 with the victory. Pittsburgh fell to 34-31. Atlanta's pitching was strong when it mattered most. The Braves are a dominant team right now. This win showed their power.