Falter deals as Pirates rout Braves

AP

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Gonzales drove in a career- high four runs and Bailey Falter carried a shutout into the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 11-5 on Friday night.

Falter (3-2) had a 20-inning scoreless streak over three starts halted in the eighth when Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a three-run home, helping the Braves avoid their first shutout of the season. The 24-year-old left-hander allowed six hits, striking out four and walking one in his first victory since April 23.

Gonzales opened the scoring by lining a two-out, tworun single to center field in the first inning. He also drove in two runs with a double in the sixth that extended the Pirates’ lead to 10-0.

Edward Olivares had three of the Pirates’ 14 hits and Andrew McCutchen, Connor Joe and Gonzales had two apiece.

Yasmani Grandal hit a tworun double in the third inning to make it 5-0 and Jared Triolo’s two-run home run to left-center increased the lead to 7-0. Olivares had RBI singles in the third and sixth innings.

Ray Kerr (1-1) gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings in his first major league start following 33 career relief appearances. The left-hander was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett Friday.

The Pirates bounced back after consecutive losses to San Francisco in which they blew a five-run lead on Tuesday and a four-run advantage on Wednesday. The Braves had won three of their previous four games, allowing just six runs.

Acuna’s three-run homer was his fourth of the season in 47 games. He hit 41 last year when he was the NL MVP.

Travis d’Arnaud added a two-run double later in the eighth to get the Braves within 11-5. Acuna, d’Arnaud and Michael Harris II had two hits apiece.

TRANSACTIONS

Braves: Signed INF Joey Wendle to a major league contract and optioned INF Luke Williams to Gwinnett. Wendle hit .222 with one RBI in 18 games with the New York Mets before being released on May 20.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: Grandal (strained right groin) returned to the lineup after missing two games.

UP NEXT

Braves RHP Reynaldo Lopez (2-1, 1.54 ERA) will face RHP Mitch Keller (5-3, 3.84 ERA) on Saturday. Lopez’s only win against the Pirates came on Sept. 24, 2016, when he helped Washington clinch the NL East title. Keller is 0-3 with a 9.97 ERA against the Braves in five career starts.