The much-anticipated pitching matchup lived up to the hype.
Max Fried vs. Paul Skenes. The Braves’ left-handed ace vs. the Pirates’ right-handed sensation.
Each starter worked six innings. Each allowed one earned run. Each scattered six hits. Each left with a no decision.
“It lived up to the hype, I think,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
In the end, Adam Duvall was the hero. The right fielder, who has been mired in a slump, hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Braves to a 2-1 victory over the Pirates on Saturday at Truist Park.
With that, the Braves close the first half of the season at 46-35. They go for a sweep of the Pirates Sunday morning.
Here are five observations:
1. Duvall got a postgame text message from his wife. He wasn’t about to share the sentiment. Suffice to say, she felt the same relief of her husband delivering in the clutch.
So did Duvall’s teammates, who mobbed him after he delivered the game-winning hit. Duvall snapped an 0-for-15 streak with an RBI double against the Pirates on Friday. The Braves needed just one batter in the 10th as Duvall singled to center field scoring the ghost runner.
“Just to be able to help the team – finally. I feel like I’ve been grinding a little bit. To be able to help them win, it’s huge personally,” said Duvall, who also had a possible game-saving catch to help Fried.
“We grind with each other. They know it hasn’t been going great for me. For them to show that kind of love at the end of the game, it hit a special place in my heart. And then getting the text from my wife after the game, because behind the scenes they hear a lot. They go through it with us. They live and die with every at-bat just like we do. … I’m over the moon right now.”
2. It didn’t take long for the Braves to greet the rookie sensation Skenes.
Three pitches to be exact.
Jarred Kelenic hit the Pirates’ right-hander’s third offering – a 99 miles per hour fastball – in the right-field seats.
One batter, one run.
Ozzie Albies followed with a single, but the Braves would manage just four more hits off Skene. He left after six innings with nine strikeouts, three coming in a row as he struck out the side in his final inning.
“I made a plan to myself that I was going to be aggressive in the zone, especially on the fastball early,” said Kelenic, who himself had a game-saving catch in center field. “I was just on time for it. It was a pretty good pitch. It was up and in. He’s got good stuff and there is no question that he is going to be an absolute superstar. I was just ready for it.”
3. The Pirates scored their lone run in the fifth inning – aided by two walks. Michael Taylor led off with a single and the Pirates loaded the bases on walks by Andrew McCutchen and Joe Connor sandwiched by a ground out. Edward Olivares lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Taylor.
Fried only walked three batters in his six innings, but those two in the fifth proved costly.
Fried escaped a jam in the sixth inning when Duvall made his nice catch against the right field wall with a runner on second. That would end his day.
The Pirates had at least one hit in all six innings against Fried. He ended by allowing just the one earned run with four strikeouts.
“At the end of the day, I’m not going up against the other pitcher, I’m going against the other lineup,” Fried said. “You know that runs are probably going to be at a premium. You know that you really have to hold the other side to a couple runs.”
4. The Braves may have won the game on, of all things, a wild pitch.
In the 10th inning, Daysbel Hernanez was on in relief. He was the final of four Braves relievers who allowed just one hit over the final four innings. To start the extra frame, the Pirates’ Olivares advanced to third on a groundout. He attempted to score from third on a wild pitch by Hernandez. Travis d’Arnaud got to the ball after it ricocheted off the backstop and threw to Hernandez. Olivares was ruled safe but the call was overturned on challenge as Hernandez applied the tag in time. Two outs. Hernadez struck out the next batter and the Pirates were done.
“That was a great little feed right there,” Snitker said. “It was perfect. You are coming in to cover the plate. There is a lot going on right there in a short period of time. …
“I actually thought he looked out, honestly, on the play. I was like holy cow. I didn’t expect him to be but when I watched the play I thought he was out.”
5. The Pirates’ Bryan Harris extended his hitting streak to 25 games with a two-out triple in the ninth inning. After Raisel Iglesias struck out the first two batters of the inning, Harris hit a ball to right field that Duvall couldn’t track down against the wall. Harris made it to third and nearly bolted for home when the relay throw got past Austin Riley. However, it wasn’t far enough to gamble. After an intentional walk, Iglesias got Olivares on a grounder in front of the plate to end the threat.
Stat to know
70 -- Paul Skenes, in just eight starts, leads the major leagues with 70 pitches that hit 100 miles per hour. He did not add to that total in his ninth start. While Skene hit 99 mph several times, he did not reach triple digits.
Quotable
“I guarantee it felt a lot better to him than me.” – Braves manager Brian Snitker on Adam Duvall’s game-winning hit.
Up next
The Braves and Pirates conclude their three-game series with an early start on Sunday with a game to air on Roku TV. Here’s how to watch the game. Spencer Schwellenbach (1-3, 5.40) versus Bailey Falter (3-6, 4.00).
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