The Pittsburgh Pirates opened their final series of the season with a commanding 9-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night at Truist Park, powered by Spencer Horwitz’s explosive bat and a relentless offensive attack. Horwitz, who has tormented Braves pitching all season, went 3-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs, continuing his dominance with five homers in just 11 career at-bats against Atlanta. The win marked Pittsburgh’s fifth in their last six games and brought them closer to clinching their first season series against the Braves since 2017.
The scoring began early for the Pirates after Braves slugger Matt Olson gave Atlanta a brief 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the first. In the top of the second, Horwitz drew a walk and was immediately followed by Tommy Pham, who crushed a 433-foot two-run homer to left field, giving Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. The rally continued as Nick Yorke singled, advanced on a wild pitch, and scored on Henry Davis’s RBI single. Davis then stole second and came home on Nick Gonzales’s base hit, capping a four-run inning and putting the Pirates ahead 4-1.
Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller struggled with command, issuing five walks over 3.2 innings, but limited the damage to one run while striking out six. Yohan Ramírez came in to strike out Olson and escape a jam, earning the win in relief. The Braves chipped away with a solo homer from Michael Harris II in the sixth and an RBI double from Drake Baldwin in the seventh, narrowing the gap to 5-3. However, Horwitz responded with a solo shot in the seventh and then sealed the game with a three-run blast in the ninth, his 11th of the season.
The Pirates’ offense was relentless, racking up 14 hits. Alongside Horwitz and Pham’s long balls, contributions came from Reynolds, Yorke, Davis, and Gonzales, each collecting multiple hits. The Braves, meanwhile, struggled with runners in scoring position, going 0-for-9 and leaving nine men on base. Joey Wentz took the loss for Atlanta, allowing four runs on eight hits over four innings, while Pittsburgh’s bullpen combined for 5.1 innings of solid work to close out the win.
Friday’s game was briefly interrupted by a 49-minute rain delay in the seventh inning, but it didn’t dampen the Pirates’ momentum. With the win, Pittsburgh improved to 70-90 on the season, while Atlanta dropped to 75-85.
Saturday’s pitching matchup features Atlanta’s Spencer Strider (7-13, 4.45 ERA) against Pittsburgh rookie Bubba Chandler (3-1, 4.56 ERA). Strider will look to rebound from a tough season, while Chandler aims to continue his promising start and help the Pirates secure the series