Jared Triolo tags out the Braves' Ronald Acuña trying to steal in the sixth inning Friday night in Atlanta.
It's no surprise how the Braves got to be baseball's best team this season.
"Pitching has been really strong, and we all know the offense that they have," Don Kelly said Friday afternoon before the first game of the series between the Pirates and Braves. "They've certainly earned their record."
That all was on display in the Pirates' 6-3 loss to the Braves on Friday at Truist Park.
The Pirates jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the third inning, only for the Braves to erase it and then some with some quality at-bats. Mauricio Dubón hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to tie the game.
Then in the fifth, the Braves strung together another rally. Dubón delivered again with an RBI double, Dominic Smith added a sacrifice fly and Austin Riley capped off the inning with an RBI double. In no time, the Braves turned a two-run deficit into a three-run lead.
Once Atlanta grabbed the lead, its pitching took over.
After Martin Pérez worked through five innings, the Braves turned the game over to their deep bullpen, retiring 16 Pirates batters in a row before the streak was broken with a Bryan Reynolds walk in the ninth. The Pirates got the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but just couldn't break through the Braves' momentum once they got it.
The Pirates did some things well despite the loss. They played well defensively behind Mitch Keller. They limited the Braves to nine hits, they were just efficient and opportunistic in getting six runs off those nine hits. They made it feel like a competitive game early and then again at the end, even if the score didn't budge after the fifth inning.
Obviously, the Pirates came into Atlanta knowing that this series was going to be a significant test. But I asked Don Kelly if it's also something they can use as a measuring stick in a way, seeing how they stack up against the best team in baseball.
"I mean, it's frustrating whenever you lose a game," Kelly said. "The Braves are good. It's hard to say, like, 'measuring stick.' I think we measure against ourselves every single day, the way we prepare and go out and compete. I did think we had some good at bats. I thought we swung the bat well there in the eighth against (Robert) Suarez, Endy (Rodriguez) hit the ball really well to right center. (Nick Gonzales) lined out, and then to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth again, those are two really good back-end guys. I thought our bats were good, and thought we played pretty good defense too."
Moral victories don't count for much in the standings, but it wasn't entirely a bad showing against baseball's best team. The Pirates were competitive. The Braves were just a little better in just about every key moment.
THE ASYLUM
Pirates have hard fall vs. baseball's best
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Jared Triolo tags out the Braves' Ronald Acuña trying to steal in the sixth inning Friday night in Atlanta.
It's no surprise how the Braves got to be baseball's best team this season.
"Pitching has been really strong, and we all know the offense that they have," Don Kelly said Friday afternoon before the first game of the series between the Pirates and Braves. "They've certainly earned their record."
That all was on display in the Pirates' 6-3 loss to the Braves on Friday at Truist Park.
The Pirates jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the third inning, only for the Braves to erase it and then some with some quality at-bats. Mauricio Dubón hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third to tie the game.
Then in the fifth, the Braves strung together another rally. Dubón delivered again with an RBI double, Dominic Smith added a sacrifice fly and Austin Riley capped off the inning with an RBI double. In no time, the Braves turned a two-run deficit into a three-run lead.
Once Atlanta grabbed the lead, its pitching took over.
After Martin Pérez worked through five innings, the Braves turned the game over to their deep bullpen, retiring 16 Pirates batters in a row before the streak was broken with a Bryan Reynolds walk in the ninth. The Pirates got the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but just couldn't break through the Braves' momentum once they got it.
The Pirates did some things well despite the loss. They played well defensively behind Mitch Keller. They limited the Braves to nine hits, they were just efficient and opportunistic in getting six runs off those nine hits. They made it feel like a competitive game early and then again at the end, even if the score didn't budge after the fifth inning.
Obviously, the Pirates came into Atlanta knowing that this series was going to be a significant test. But I asked Don Kelly if it's also something they can use as a measuring stick in a way, seeing how they stack up against the best team in baseball.
"I mean, it's frustrating whenever you lose a game," Kelly said. "The Braves are good. It's hard to say, like, 'measuring stick.' I think we measure against ourselves every single day, the way we prepare and go out and compete. I did think we had some good at bats. I thought we swung the bat well there in the eighth against (Robert) Suarez, Endy (Rodriguez) hit the ball really well to right center. (Nick Gonzales) lined out, and then to get the tying run to the plate in the ninth again, those are two really good back-end guys. I thought our bats were good, and thought we played pretty good defense too."
Moral victories don't count for much in the standings, but it wasn't entirely a bad showing against baseball's best team. The Pirates were competitive. The Braves were just a little better in just about every key moment.
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