ATLANTA — The Pirates’ bats made plenty of noise Friday evening, starting strong and finishing stronger. That dominant collective effort at the plate paved the way for a 9-3 win over the Braves at Truist Park.

After falling behind in the first inning, Pittsburgh tallied four runs in the top of the second. The big inning came against former Pirate Joey Wentz, who started the contest for Atlanta. Spencer Horwitz led the inning off with a walk, which was followed by a two-run homer from Tommy Pham, his 10th of the season. Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales drove home the other two runs, both on singles.

The Braves’ first run was a blast from Matt Olson in the bottom of the first inning. The second was a leadoff jack from Michael Harris II in the bottom of the sixth. Atlanta had a handful of other notable scoring chances, especially in the third, when three straight walks from Mitch Keller loaded the bases, but their big hit never arrived.

Horwitz added to Pittsburgh’s lead with a solo homer to right in the top of the seventh. While the Braves responded with a run in the bottom half, coming on an RBI double from Drake Baldwin, they were unable to battle all the way back.

Jared Triolo scored the first of four runs in the top of the ninth inning, taking advantage of a throwing error by Braves second baseman Nick Allen. Horwitz then stamped an exclamation point on the win with his second long ball of the night, this one scoring three runs.

The victory marked the Pirates’ fifth in their last six games. Yohan Ramirez, who replaced Keller with an out remaining in the bottom of the fourth, was the game’s winning pitcher, improving to 3-3. Wentz suffered the loss, dropping to 3-6 on the year.

It was over when ...

... Horwitz smashed a pair of homers in the late going. The multi-homer effort was his fourth as a big leaguer. He now has 11 home runs on the season, fourth most on the team behind Oneil Cruz (20), Bryan Reynolds (16) and Andrew McCutchen (13).

On the mound

With plenty of trade speculation connected to his name heading into the offseason, Keller made what could possibly be his final start as a Pirate on Friday evening.

The outing wasn’t a long one, as the right-hander was pulled with an out remaining in the bottom of the fourth. Walks were his biggest issue, issuing five free passes.

Keller was able to dance out of the jams he created. Olson’s solo homer was the only damage he surrendered. He allowed two other hits and struck out six. He ended the season with a 4.19 ERA, the lowest mark he’s posted in any year in which he’s logged at least 160 innings.

The Pirates bullpen successfully covered the remainder of the game, surrendering just two more runs. The first came on Harris’ solo homer, which was surrendered by Mike Burrows. The second was scored on the RBI double by Baldwin, which was allowed by Isaac Mattson.

At the plate

The Pirates tallied 14 hits Friday evening. Five of those knocks went for extra bases — Pham and Horwitz’s homers, plus doubles from McCutchen and Triolo. Six players had multi-hit efforts: Horwitz, Davis, Gonzales, McCutchen, Reynolds and Nick Yorke.

Most valuable player

Horwitz, who finished 3 for 3 with two homers, a single, two doubles and four RBIs.

Up next

The Pirates and Braves will continue their three-game series Saturday at Truist Park. Bubba Chandler (3-1, 4.56 ERA) will face Spencer Strider (7-13, 4.45) on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

©2025 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.