Despite Friday’s victory, the Pittsburgh Pirates remain in a significant early-season slump.
There’s minimal optimism that the Pirates (13-26) can recover and make something of the season.
Still, the team’s 3-2 home win over the Atlanta Braves in interim manager Don Kelly’s first game after the firing of their previous skipper was a memorable start.
“It’s fair to say we all played for him tonight,” said Bailey Falter, who started on the mound at PNC Park before a crowd of 19,357 and earned the win.
Falter (2-3, 4.36 ERA) notched his second straight strong outing, tossing six scoreless innings while giving up two hits, walking two, and striking out three.
Solo home runs from Alexander Canario and Jared Triolo off Braves pitcher Bryce Elder (2-2, 4.97 ERA), along with a sixth-inning RBI double from Andrew McCutchen, accounted for Pittsburgh’s runs.
Dennis Santana endured a shaky ninth inning but managed to secure his fourth save of the season despite surrendering two runs.
After the game, Kelly, who was doused in a variety of substances by his players according to Falter, said the night couldn’t have gone better.
“It was great, especially seeing how the guys fought,” Kelly said. “They came through when needed. The energy was strong, and the way they played was outstanding.”
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the third when Canario, inserted late into the lineup due to Tommy Pham feeling ill, hit an opposite-field solo shot over the Clemente Wall — his second homer of the year.
Pham eventually replaced Canario in left field for the ninth inning.
Falter followed up his previous solid seven-inning performance against the Padres by keeping the Braves off the scoreboard early.
Atlanta (18-20) left two runners stranded in the first and saw Sean Murphy walk on four pitches to begin the second.
After that, Falter settled in, breezing through the next five innings.
“Commanding all the pitches was key,” said Falter, who threw 56 of his 89 pitches for strikes. “The fastball’s been really sharp the last two outings. Once we establish that, everything else works off it.”
With one out in the sixth, Triolo hit a solo homer into the left-field seats, extending the lead to 2-0.
Following a single by Bryan Reynolds, McCutchen hit a double to center that narrowly missed being a home run, bouncing off the top of the wall and scoring Reynolds for a 3-0 cushion heading into the seventh.
Elder exited after the sixth, having allowed three runs on five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Chase Shugart came in after Falter for the seventh and recorded two outs before Kelly brought in Caleb Ferguson, who struck out Alex Verdugo to end the frame.
David Bednar pitched the eighth and preserved the lead despite giving up two singles, striking out all three batters he faced.
Santana took over in the ninth to close the game.
Eli White began the inning with a triple and scored on a Michael Harris sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Santana then gave up a single to Verdugo, who was later driven in by a Drake Baldwin RBI single, narrowing the margin to 3-2.
Santana eventually secured the win by getting Ozzie Albies to line out.
“That’s the game — that’s the excitement,” Kelly said of the tense finish. “Everyone was holding their breath. You’d rather not have it that close, but (Santana) handled it well and the fans were into it. It was a thrilling ending “.
