Bravos Broom Bucs 2-1

Well, that was quick: Willy hung a 1-2 change to Ronald Acuna and the youngster launched it 410' into the seats. He then 1-2-3'ed the Braves. Corey D and Starling scorched balls off Julio Teheran; both found leather. Gregory made it an easy frame with a tapper to the hill. Tyler Flowers showed a good eye in drawing a two-out walk in the second before a bouncer closed it out. Ho hum, nada from the Pirates, with J-Bell roping a 104 MPH out to center. Willy gave up a two-out knock in the third for all the Atlanta action, with Red Beard making a nice backhand stop of a hot shot. It's nine up, nine down for the Bucs; Teheran is sitting at 29 pitches. The Bravos took a walk in the fourth to go with three flies. The Pirates didn't hit a ball hard enough to scare an egg. Willy kept dealing in the fifth. Fraze walked and went to second on a roller. Colin singled him home through the shift with two outs, even though Moran was thrown out trying for second after the throw to the plate. But hey, the no-hitter and shutout are averted. Trevor spun a shutdown sixth,with a nice leaping grab by J-Bell. Hechy took one to the track in left while the next two outs were garden variety.

Willy did his part... (photo Joe Guzy/Pirates)

Willy was done after two hits, two walks, four Ks and 84 tosses in another strong outing as Keone Kela got the ball, working a calm seventh with a pair of strikeouts. Cervy singled after a couple of soft outs, and a weak bouncer ended the frame. Kyle Crick took the eighth inning jog, and he gave up a leadoff single, followed by a wild pitch and stolen base (no throw; the pitch dropped out of Cervy's glove). That was followed by two free passes. Crick was off in his last outing, too, and Clint waved Edgar Santana into the fire. He got a force at home, despite a shaky toss by J-Bell, costing a possible DP. That hurt following a sac fly to make it 2-1. An intentional walk and whiff shut the gate. Brad Brach came on and walked J-Bell. A couple of grounders got him to third. Freeser pinch hit and  whiffed on four pitches,swinging through a rising fastball. Felipe Vazquez was next and cruised through the ninth. Jonny Venters was called on for the close against the top of the order. A gentle roller and whiff set it up, but Gregory provided some drama with a two-strike double that just missed tying it, hitting off the top of the Clemente Wall. But another weakly hit ball, a come backer, ended it.

If you can't score, you can't win. The pity is that the pitching has been so solid during this homestand, giving up 13 runs, with six in one game. Here's hoping they can hang until the Bucs get their bats back.

Notes:

• Pittsburgh had three hits (same as Atlanta); they've scored seven runs in their last seven games and finished the home stand at 2-5. 
• There was a sparse showing of 14,249 at tonight's game.
• Stew is back - the Braves called C Chris Stewart up from AAA as insurance while they're evaluating Kurt Suzuki, who was clocked by Clay Holmes last night. 
• Corey Dickerson was given the Pirates 2018 Heart & Hustle Award in a pre-game ceremony.
• Jung-Ho Kang is cleared for "gripping" exercises; that doesn't sound promising for much baseball action, be it in rehab or Pittsburgh, this year, especially with all the time he's missed (he's been out since the end of June) with his wrist injury.
• Other injuries: Arch isn't expected to miss his Sunday start (he has a bullpen tomorrow, so that should tell the tale), S-Rod is close to baseball-ready status (rehab or reinstatement TBD) and Jordy is hitting/taking grounders but in take-it-slow mode to date. Also, prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes is still out of action but appears to have escaped with a deep shoulder bruise. They hope to have him back in action on Friday.