PITTSBURGH (AP) — Max Fried allowed only three hits in eight innings, pacing the Atlanta Braves to a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Fried (12-4) struck out seven and walked one, retiring 20 of the final 23 batters he faced, and allowed one run. The All-Star left-hander got through eight innings for the second time this season. He gave up two hits to the Rockies in eight shutout innings on June 3.
Atlanta has taken the first two of the three-game series, and 13 of 15 overall, to move closer to the first-place New York Mets in the NL East.
The Pirates have dropped 10 of 12. They have scored only two runs through the first two games against the Braves, including a 2-1 loss on Monday.
Six straight hits to start the fifth powered Atlanta to five runs. The Braves tied it 1-all on Travis d’Arnaud’s 13th homer 409 feet to left field off a curveball from JT Brubaker (3-11), the first pitch of the inning. William Contreras singled ahead of a Michael Harris II double, setting up Vaughn Grissom’s RBI single.
Robbie Grossman followed with another RBI single. Ronald Acuña Jr. had the sixth consecutive hit, a single to right. Grissom scored when Dansby Swanson grounded into a force out and Grossman went home on Austin Riley’s sacrifice fly.
A lead-off single from Grissom in the third was the Braves’ only hit entering the fifth.
Riley’s two-out single in the seventh extended the lead to five.
Brubaker went 6 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits with eight strikeouts.
Michael Chavis put the Pirates ahead in the second with his 13th home run to left field. Chavis had only two homers in his previous 29 games, each against Arizona on Aug. 9.
Fried didn’t allow a second hit until Ben Gamel singled with two outs in the seventh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes (mid-muscle back strain) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. … INF Kevin Padlo was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. … C José Godoy cleared waivers and accepted assignment to Indianapolis.
UP NEXT
RHP Kyle Wright (15-5, 3.14 ERA) will take the mound for Atlanta in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon against RHP Mitch Keller (4-9, 4.49). Wright has allowed no more than two runs in five of his past six starts. Keller left with right shoulder fatigue two innings into his last outing, allowing five runs (four earned) to the Red Sox on Aug. 16.
