​It looked as if another Braves game was destined for a frantic finish. Although Atlanta had taken the lead from the start and pushed it to 6-2 by the fourth inning, Pittsburgh chipped away steadily, leaving the Braves clinging to a 6-5 edge as the ninth inning began. Mike Yastrzemski delivered a crucial insurance blow for the Braves, a two-out grand slam that not only provided a cushion but also spared Atlanta from needing closer Raisel Iglesias. The Braves ultimately pulled away for a 10-5 victory in Thursday afternoon’s rubber match at PNC Park.
As has often been the case for this lineup, the offense did its damage with the long ball, totaling three homers. Matt Olson gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the top of the first with a mammoth drive to right off Mitch Keller (6-7). Olson’s 25th homer of the season came on the same day he tied Dale Murphy’s franchise record by playing in his 740th consecutive game. Atlanta added two more runs in the third on Ozzie Albies’ RBI double and Mauricio Dubón’s RBI single, but the Pirates answered back in a hurry with back-to-back homers by Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez in a three-pitch span off Braves starter Bryce Elder.
The Braves answered in the fourth, manufacturing a three-run inning. After Yastrzemski drew a ten-pitch walk, Jim Jarvis ignited the rally with his first career homer, a two-run shot to right. Drake Baldwin followed with an RBI single, making it 6-2. Jarvis would go on to produce a double and a single, finishing a triple short of the cycle and recording his first three-hit game and the first multi-hit game of his major league career. Baldwin went 2-for-4, the other Braves player with more than one hit, though the club as a whole totaled 11 hits with eight of the nine starters recording at least a knock.
Keller lasted just three innings thanks to the third-inning rally, yielding three runs on four hits. Elder’s strong start helped stabilize the early offense but he labored through a shorter-than-desired outing. After stranding two runners in both the first and second innings and surrendering back-to-back home runs in the third, Elder was tagged again in the fourth by a Jake Mangum two-run shot. Elder finished with four innings pitched, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, while fanning three and walking two. He did not reach the five-inning threshold needed to qualify for the win, but his performance helped snap a three-game losing streak.
Dylan Dodd earned the win, improving to 2-0 after delivering a clean 1-2-3 fifth inning before the weather delay paused play. The bullpen then shouldered a sizable workload, finishing the game with five innings of relief. JR Ritchie issued a leadoff walk in each of his two frames but managed to limit the damage to a single run, aided by Danny Young, who helped escape a seventh-inning jam with a double play turned in relief of Ritchie. James Karinchak also saw action, replacing Ritchie and contributing to the bullpen’s solid, extended effort as Atlanta closed out the win.
In the end, the Braves’ offensive firepower, featuring three home runs and a steady stream of multi-hit performances, proved decisive. Yastrzemski’s insurance grand slam provided the crucial blow that allowed Atlanta to avoid any late drama and secure a 10-5 victory over the Pirates in the series finale at PNC Park. It was a win built on timely hitting, a powerful start from Olson, and a resilient bullpen performance that carried the team through a weather-interrupted afternoon.