Harris provides heroic hit, bullpen slams door in Braves’ sweep of Pirates

It was already wet, but Michael Harris II made it rain anyway.

Harris delivered a bases-clearing, pinch-hit double in the seventh inning Sunday, a ball scorched 109 mph off the bat that sailed through the precipitation and all the way to the wall for what turned out to be the game-winning hit in a 3-2 Braves’ victory over the Pirates.

“Kind of part of my strategy sometimes, just try to stay out the game so I can come in at some point,” Harris joked.

Pulled from Friday’s win with back pain and held out of the lineup Saturday, Harris came off the bench and hit his ninth double of the season. The Braves had two hits to that point, and just one since the second inning.

It was the second heroic pinch hit of the season for Harris, who gave the Braves the lead with a two-run pinch-hit double against the Phillies on April 24 at Truist Park. This time, Harris’ heroics earned the Braves a three-game sweep of the Pirates.

“Just coming in and knowing I got to do a job,” Harris said of what has led to the pinch-hit successes. “Big-time situation, just kind of staying poised. I fed off the crowd today. Once I came in to pinch-hit it was really loud - it sounded like a playoff game. I couldn’t let them down.”

The Braves (45-21) were within striking distance because starter Bryce Elder had held the Pirates to two runs over six innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out four. Elder threw 88 pitches (55 for strikes) and his ERA went from 2.63 to 2.66.

Reynaldo López (3-1) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, then was lifted with one out in the eighth after giving up a single and a walk. Tyler Kinley got a pop out to shortstop and, after a walk, a grounder to first off the bat of Pirates cleanup hitter Ryan O’Hearn.

“Obviously, conditions are not what anybody asked for. Balls are wet, mound’s slippery, all kinds of stuff,” Kinley said. “They seemed to have momentum there. The goal there is just to come in and shut that down and give us a chance.”

Didier Fuentes allowed a lead-off, first-pitch double in the ninth to pinch hitter Brandon Lowe. Second baseman Ozzie Albies and veteran catcher Austin Wynns met Fuentes on the mound to remind the 20-year-old that Oneil Cruz, pinch-running at second for Lowe, was a threat to steal so to make sure to throw at different points in the pitch clock, Albies explained.

Fuentes struck out Tyler Callihan before an infield single with one out put runners at the corners. Jared Triolo popped up to second and Endy Rodríguez struck out, giving Fuentes his first career save and making the Braves 38-0 this season when leading after eight innings.

“Very nervous. Very nervous going into that situation,” Fuentes said via interpreter and Braves’ coach Eddie Perez. “It was tough, but everything went well.”

Said Braves’ manager Walt Weiss: “First pitch, gives up a lead-off double. Tough to keep ‘em from scoring right there. (Fuentes) earned a stripe or two on his shoulder today with that experience. That was a good one.”

Before Harris’ hit in the seventh, the Braves had been behind all day. Elder’s sixth pitch of the game, a 3-2 slider, was hit into the right field seats by Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz.

In the third, Elder walked the first two hitters he faced before Horwitz’s swinging bunt came to a dead stop on the third-base chalk. Nick Gonzales rolled into a 6-4-3 double play, allowing a run to score and giving the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

The Pirates (34-32) used reliever Mason Montgomery to begin Sunday’s game, and Austin Riley struck out against him for the third out in the bottom of the first, leaving the bases loaded. Bubba Chandler took over from there and was dominant.

The righty from North Oconee High School was cruising into the sixth having allowed only a single to Sandy León (who broke an 0-for-30 slump with the hit) before retiring 13 in a row. But trouble began brewing in the seventh when third baseman Callihan’s throwing error allowed Dominic Smith to reach, then Mike Yastrzemski and Jorge Mateo walked to load the bases.