The Pittsburgh Pirates offense had 12 hits in a series opening 10-8 victory against the Atlanta Braves.
Charlie Morton [3-0] did just enough to earn a victory against his former team, throwing five innings allowing four runs [three earned]. Morton also walked three batters and struck out one on 82 pitches, 50 of which were for strikes.
Morton once again displayed his ground ball ability as the Braves had nine ground ball outs and two fly balls.
The Braves scored two runs in the first innings with one coming on an Andrelton Simmons single and the other coming on a fielding error with a ball hit by A.J. Pierzynski.
Francisco Cervelli struck for the first Pirates run in the second inning, which scored Jung Ho Kang. The hit came off Braves starting pitcher Williams Perez.
Pierzynski hit his seventh double which added another Braves run, however the Pirates took the lead when Neil Walker hit a three-run home run that placed the visiting team in front for the first time. Walker’s fourth home run of the season landed in the right field seats.
Juan Uribe had a force out that allowed Freddie Freeman to cross home plate.
Starling Marte put the Pirates back in front with his 11th home run of the season. The homer came in the sixth inning off Luis Avilan [2-1] and scored two runs. Marte came into the game with one hit in his last 23 at-bats.
Uribe placed the Braves within one run.
The Pirates scored three runs in the eighth inning. Sean Rodriguez grounded into a double play, Marte had a single and Andrew McCutchen’s double wound up being the winning run.
The Braves scored two runs on Tony Watson. Cameron Maybin singled and Simmons added a ground out. With runners on first and second base, Jared Hughes came in and got the first batter he faced, Nick Markakis, to ground out.
Cervelli singled to score an additional Pirates run in the ninth inning, which padded the lead to three runs. Cervelli was 4-for-5, which raised his average to .331.
Mark Melancon came in to pitch the ninth inning. Pedro Ciriaco had a single which brought the Braves to within two runs. Melancon however was able to end the game with a double play earning his 17th save of the season.
The Pirates will look to win their second consecutive series Saturday evening. Jeff Locke [3-3 5.34 ERA] will face Julio Tehran [4-2 4.87 ERA]. Locke is 1-1 with a 6.20 ERA in four career starts against his former team.
Photo courtesy: @Pirates
