Pittsburgh rookie Bubba Chandler recorded another strong start, and Henry Davis hit a home run to help the visiting Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Saturday in the second game of their three-game series.
Pittsburgh (71-90) has won six of its last seven games and has won four of five games against Atlanta (75-86), guaranteeing the Pirates their first season-series win against Atlanta since 2017.
Chandler (4-1), Pittsburgh’s third-round draft choice in 2021, was born and raised in Georgia and was facing the Braves for the first time. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts. In his final three starts, Chandler allowed two runs in 16 2/3 combined innings, a 1.08 ERA.
Chase Shugart (1 1/3 innings), Justin Lawrence (one inning) and Dennis Santana covered the final innings. Santana earned his 16th save.
Davis tied the game in the third inning with a 425-foot solo homer to left-center field, his seventh.
Davis was also involved in an unusual defensive play that resulted in the ejection of Atlanta star Matt Olslon, who was called out for obstruction by home plate umpire Brock Ballou in the bottom of the sixth after Bryant ran into him while trying to field a high pop.
Olson continued to argue after taking the field and was ejected for the first time in his career, 1,222 games. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker also got tossed, his third ejection of the year.
Atlanta starter Spencer Strider (7-14) pitched six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out five.
The Braves scored a run in the second inning when Marcell Ozuna delivered a two-out single to drive in Drake Baldwin.
Pittsburgh took a 3-1 lead by scoring twice in the sixth. Nick Gonzalez drove in a run with a double and scored on Jack Suwinski’s single that glanced off the glove of Atlanta shortstop Ha-Seong Kim.
