The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves 5-3 last night to open a three-game series. Tony Watson picked up his first save as the “official” Pirates closer following the trade of Mark Melancon. Pirate starter Gerrit Cole earned the victory. He allowed one earned run over five innings. Adam Frazier had two hits and drove in two runs. He had the Pirates first hit of the game in the fifth inning.
Catcher Francisco Cervelli left the game in the fifth inning after being hit in the head with a pitch.
The Bucs visit the Braves again tonight at 7:10pm. Jeff Locke will start for the Pirates. Pre-game on WISR 680am is 6:40pm. 22-year old Rob Whalen, a native of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, will make his major league debut tonight for the Braves.
The Pirates gained ground on both National League Wild Card teams with last night’s victory after the Dodgers and Marlins lost. They are now 2-1/2 games back, while the Cardinals also lost and the Bucs are two games behind them for second place in the NL Central.The post Pirates close out Braves/Watson picks up where Melancon left off appeared first on Inside Butler County – Butler, PA.
