Wood Ejected, Braves Shutout By Pirates 3-0

The Atlanta Braves were unable to score any runs this afternoon in their series finale with the Pittsburgh Pirates, falling 3-0.  This is the fifth time the Braves have been shutout in 2015.  The only runs of the ball game in the top of the fifth inning.

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It looked like Braves starter Alex Wood was going to get out of a bases loaded jam when he struck out Andrew McCutchen for the second out of the inning.  But Starling Marte and Jung Ho Kang were able to deliver back-to-back two-out RBI singles to give the Pirates their three runs.  Wood voiced his frustration with home plate umpire Mark Carlson about the strike zone and ended up getting tossed from the ball game on his way back to the first base dugout.  Wood’s bad luck at home continues as the Atlanta southpaw has yet to win a game at Turner Field this season.

Jun 7, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Pirates ace Gerrit Cole pitched well for Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon.  Outside of two Braves’ hit batsmen, Cole didn’t allow a run, striking out seven despite clearly not having his best stuff.  It looked like the Atlanta humidity was bothering him considerably.  Cole has now won 9 games this season for the Pirates and his ERA drops to 1.73 after today’s start.

Atlanta only mustered six hits today after a great last week and a half offensively for the ball club.  Cameron Maybin continues to impress at the plate, with three singles this afternoon.  Maybin is very close to hitting above .300 as the Braves starting centerfielder (.296).  I believe he will eclipse that threshold in this upcoming series with his former ball club, the San Diego Padres.

The home series with the Pittsburgh Pirates definitely had its ups and downs.  From the bullpen capsizing like the Titanic Friday night to Christian Bethancourt’s walkoff homer last night to Alex Wood’s fifth inning ejection today, we saw a bit of everything in this three game set with the Buccos.  You could feel the tension between the teams when Cole plunked both Andrelton Simmons and Freddie Freeman.  One more wild fastball and there would have been a bench clearing brawl, no doubt.

The best part of today’s game was that the bullpen pitched four scoreless innings.  Cody Martin, Brandon Cunniff, and Trevor Cahill allowed a combined four base runners in the final four frames (3 hits, 1 walk).  I came away impressed with the bullpen’s performance this afternoon, especially with Wood getting tossed in the fifth inning.  Hopefully the team can take something positive into their next series with the Padres.