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Braves Lose to Pirates in Extras 3-2

By John Buhler

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The Atlanta Braves drop the first game of their series with the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night in extra innings 3-2.  This is the fourth game in a row that Atlanta has lost.  Atlanta is still winless four games into their six game road trip.

-= Related: Atlanta Braves Meet Pittsburgh Pirates at the Confluence =- 

While the pitching staff held its own tonight, the Braves are struggling to score runs without 1B Freddie Freeman in the lineup due to an injured right wrist.  Atlanta has only scored 15 runs in their last 8 ball games.

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    • Atlanta only mustered six hits tonight at the plate.  Eury Perez and Juan Uribe led the way with two hits apiece including a solo shot by Uribe in the top of the sixth inning off Francisco Liriano.  The Braves grounded into three double plays tonight.  Anytime your team hits into more than two GIDP’s in a game, it doesn’t bode very well for your offensive production.

    The Braves starting pitcher Williams Perez was looking great tonight until Josh Harrison lined a ball right of Perez’s back leg in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Perez was unable to complete the fifth inning due to swelling on his right ankle.  After hitting and walking the next two batters on seven pitches, Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez had to no choice but to pull Perez from the ball game.

    LHP Luis Avilan had to come in and clean up Perez’s mess.  Unfortunately for the Braves, Pedro Alvarez delivered a two-out, two-RBI single to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth.  I felt bad for Williams Perez because had he not been hit by Harrison’s line drive, he could have gone deep into the ball game because he was pitching great.  Thankfully Juan Uribe tied the game up with his solo shot so that Perez would not be the pitcher of record tonight.

    The middle relievers for the Atlanta Braves pitched decently tonight.  Luis Avilan, Nick Masset, and Jim Johnson did not allow an earned run in a combined 4.1 innings pitched, despite giving up five hits and one walk.  Pedro Alvarez’s RBI’s belonged to Williams Perez.

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    Too bad Jason Grilli didn’t have it tonight.  He gave up two hits and a walk in the bottom of the tenth, including Jordy Mercer’s game-winning RBI double off the rightfield wall to easily score the speedy Andrew McCutchen.  I’m just not confident with Grilli going into a tie ballgame late in the night, especially on the road.  Though he has 20 saves on the season, his innings are rarely clean and that’s problematic when the leadoff batter gets on in a tie ball game.  You don’t want the game-winning run on base with nobody out.

    This was a better and more entertaining game than yesterday’s beatdown by the Nationals.  But Atlanta needs to win a game here either tomorrow or Sunday afternoon to prevent consecutive sweeps on this difficult two-city road trip.  This is what happens when your team plays two clubs likely to play in the postseason.  Better luck tomorrow, Atlanta.

    Next: Cameron Maybin's Impact on the Atlanta Braves

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