The Atlanta Braves had just finished taking three out of four games against the Cincinnati Reds, so the expectations in Braves Country were pretty high ahead of their trip to Pittsburgh to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates had just fired their manager Derek Shelton and they were 1-10 in their last 11 games entering this series. Not only that but the Braves would not be facing Paul Skenes or Mitch Keller, so it seemed like this was the perfect series for Atlanta to finally get to .500 and possibly even get over that mark with a sweep.
As most of you know by now, that wasn’t the case. The Pirates showed plenty of fight and energy under their new manager Don Kelly and they ended up winning their first series since taking two out of three from the Los Angeles Angels in late April. Atlanta however, would go ice cold from the plate in a disappointing showing that would last the entire series.
Atlanta Braves vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Series Recap
Game 1: Pirates 3, Braves 2
This game pretty much summed up the entire series. The Braves lineup was nowhere to be found in the early and middle portions of this game before eventually coming alive once runs and outs were at an absolute premium. Before the ninth inning rolled around, Bryce Elder was busy keeping Atlanta in it with another solid start. He did give up the three runs that made the difference in this one, but this was one where Elder shouldn’t have had to be the one to carry the team to victory.
Pittsburgh was up 3-0 heading into the ninth inning before Atlanta finally made some noise. Michael Harris got the Braves on the board by cashing in Eli White’s ninth-inning leadoff triple with a sacrifice fly and then Drake Baldwin would hit an RBI single to make it 3-2. Ozzie Albies was the leadoff man for Atlanta in this one and he went 0 for 5, with his final AB ending the game. Albies has been struggling and putting him at leadoff for this one was a bit of a head-scratcher.
Game 2: Braves 3, Pirates 2
Fortunately, the Braves didn’t wait until the game was nearly over to get some runs up on the board in this one. They were actually playing from ahead in most of this game, as they had a 2-0 lead after three innings with a Matt Olson homer being responsible for the second run on the board. AJ Smith-Shawver continued to pitch well and it seemed like Atlanta would cruise to a win.
The Braves offense died off in the middle portion of this game, however, and the Pirates scratched together enough offense to where this one ended up going into extras tied at two runs apiece. Atlanta cobbled together enough at the plate to where a wild pitch was good enough to plate what ended up being the winning run for Atlanta. Scott Blewett came up big on the mound to ensure that the Braves would escape from this one with the win and he would escape any “blew it” comments from Braves fans after the game.
Game 3: Pirates 4, Braves 3
Once again, Atlanta’s lineup wouldn’t come to life until late in the game. It wasn’t until the eighth inning that we got to see the Braves show any signs of intent in this one, which is when they would score three runs to pull off a comeback and tie the game 3-3. The big hit was delivered by Sean Murphy, who originally had the day off but pinch hit in a crucial situation. He would come in with the bases loaded and he would clear the bases with a three-RBI double.
It felt like this was the beginning of another one of those magical late comebacks that Atlanta has made a habit of. But this time, it was the other team that would celebrate when the game was over, as the Pirates dinked and dunked Raisel Iglesias in the ninth inning on their way to a walk-off win that also saw them get a surprising series win. It wasn’t the greatest-looking baseball in the world but the Pirates did show signs of life under their new manager, which is all their fans can ask for at the moment.
Final thoughts
Had Atlanta taken care of business during this series like many of us thought they would, we’d be talking about them being at or possibly even above .500 for the first time all season. Instead, the Braves’ offensive woes would rear their ugly head again. Again, the Braves didn’t see Skenes or Keller in any of these games but based on what we saw, you have to imagine that it would’ve been so much worse if they did.
While the Braves pitching staff continued to impress over these three games, it’s hard for any team to win when the offense was as flat as it was for long stretches like Atlanta’s offense was during this series. Even in the win, the bats were largely dormant for long portions of the game and they were essentially gifted the winning run with a wild pitch. Overall this was a pretty disappointing weekend trip for the Braves and there’s no sugarcoating it.
The positive for Atlanta is that they’ll be coming home where they have played well and they will have another shot at reaching or potentially clearing the .500 mark. The Washington Nationals will be coming into this upcoming series having lost five in a row and also haven’t been playing well on the road either. All the Braves can do now is take care of business in this upcoming series with Washington to quickly move on and leave this series with Pittsburgh in the past.
Main Image: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
