The Braves offense got going early to back some strong pitching from Kyle Wright and Touki Toussaint as the Braves downed the Pirates by the score of 6-2.
Kyle Wright got the start for the Braves on Monday and worked through a quick 1st inning including a pair of strikeouts and a lone walk being the only blemish. The second inning went very similar to the first as he gave up a ground ball single and struck out another two batters. Wright’s third inning was less smooth as he gave up some baserunners who Jesse Biddle inherited and allowed to score, but five strikeouts in three innings when he didn’t have his best command is not too shabby.
The Braves wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as they went to work in the bottom of the 1st inning. Ender Inciarte led off with a double and Josh Donaldson drove him in immediately afterwards with an RBI single. After Freddie Freeman struck out, Ronald Acuna Jr. did Ronald Acuna Jr. things as he launched a two-run blast off of the scoreboard in centerfield to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. Acuna would finish his day going 2-2 with a walk, 2 RBI, and two runs scored.
The second inning started out well for the Braves with Charlie Culberson getting on base with a double followed by a Dansby Swanson walk. Unfortunately, Ender Inciarte hit a ground ball that ended up being a triple play with Culberson getting thrown out at home.
The third inning went better as Freddie Freeman got in on the fun as he hit a double. Ronald Acuna Jr., with pitcher Nick Kingham learning his lesson from the first time he came to the plate, drew a walk and then Nick Markakis drove Freddie in with an RBI single. Brian McCann sent Acuna home on an RBI groundout and the Braves found themselves with a 5-0 lead.
After Biddle let some inherited runners score to make it a 5-2 game, Touki Toussaint came in for the Braves and pitched four scoreless innings. Touki gave up just two hits while striking out four batters before yielding to Sam Freeman who came on and struck out two batters in a clean inning of relief.
The Braves would tack on another run in on a grounder from Tyler Neslony to make it a 6-2 lead which was more than enough to secure the win.