Ozzie Albies hits grand slam to cap 8-run 7th inning as Braves rally past Pirates

The Atlanta Braves had turned a two-run deficit into a two-run lead when Ozzie Albies came to bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After falling behind to an 0-2 count, Albies fouled off three Chris Stratton pitches before connecting on a four-seam fastball that he drove 402 feet into the left-field seats for a grand slam.

The Braves used an eight-run seventh capped by Albies’ slam to rally past the Pirates, 10-4, for their MLB-best 10th consecutive win Saturday afternoon at Truist Park.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Pirates, and Stratton took the blame for blowing the game.

“It’s no secret they’re rolling, and we’ve been scuffling. We really needed this one,” Stratton said. “Our offense gave us the lead late, and I let our team down today. I just didn’t get the outs.”

The Pirates’ bullpen blew a solid start by Zach Thompson, who gave up a pair of first-inning home runs but allowed only one hit and one walk with four strikeouts after that. Since May 8, Thompson has posted a 2.33 ERA and held opponents to a .202 batting average.

“Thompson did a good job,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He came back, he executed pitches after that. He gave us four strong innings after the two home runs and, ultimately, threw the ball well.”

The Pirates got out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a pair of solo homers. Bryan Reynolds hit a 3-2 fastball 402 feet to right-center for his ninth home run and a 1-0 lead. Charlie Morton’s 97.6 mph four-seamer was the hardest-thrown pitch hit for a homer by a Pirates player this season.

Daniel Vogelbach added another solo shot, this one on a belt-high, first-pitch fastball, that measured 433 feet to left field for a 2-0 edge. It marked the fourth multi-homer inning for the Pirates this season, the second time it happened in the first inning.

The Braves answered immediately as leadoff batter Ronald Acuna Jr. sent Thompson’s 3-1 cutter 434 feet for his sixth homer to cut it the Braves’ deficit to 2-1. Austin Riley tied the score by drilling a first-pitch cutter 432 feet to tie the NL lead with his 16th homer.

“It was unfortunate that I gave up the two right after that,” Thompson said. “You just have to go out there and keep making pitches and make sure you keep your team in the ballgame.”

Morton hit Tyler Heineman with a pitch to start the fifth then gave up back-to-back two-out RBI doubles to Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes as the Pirates took a 4-2 lead. Reynolds went 3 for 4, giving him eight hits in the series.

After striking out 13 times in each of their past three games, the Pirates struck out a dozen times against Morton. That was a a season-high for Morton, marking his 20th career game with double-digit strikeouts.

Thompson had only one strikeout going into the fifth. That changed when he got three Braves swinging, even if the last two proved adventurous.

When Thompson struck out Michael Harris II, the ball got past Heineman and the catcher’s throw to first sailed over Michael Chavis for an error. Heineman had another mishap when Harris stole second on Acuna’s third strike: Heineman’s hand hit Acuna in the helmet on the throw. Thompson got Dansby Swanson to pop up to end the inning.

Even so, after throwing 67 pitches through five innings, Shelton pulled Thompson for reliever Duane Underwood Jr. in the sixth. Thompson still felt fresh, though he didn’t question the manager’s decision.

“I think I could still keep going,” Thompson said, “but that’s not my call.”

Underwood retired the first three batters he faced in order in the sixth, but things unraveled for the Pirates in the seventh. Underwood gave up a leadoff double to Marcell Ozuna then walked William Contreras. Underwood got Adam Duvall to ground into what was first ruled a 3-4-1 double play before the Braves challenged and got the call overturned.

That left runners on first and third, and Harris singled to score Ozuna and cut the Pirates’ lead to 4-3.

“We had the spot where we thought Underwood would be good. He came in and was effective the first time,” Shelton said. “We thought Zach was near the end of where we wanted him to be and, obviously, it didn’t work out in the seventh.”

Stratton replaced Underwood but hit Acuna Jr. with a pitch to load the bases, and Swanson followed with a bases-clearing single down the right-field line to give the Braves a 6-4 lead. After a Riley single, Stratton intentionally walked Matt Olson to load the bases for Albies.

“The biggest thing was just being ahead of all three guys (in the count),” Stratton said. “That’s the most disappointing thing. That was a big situation and I failed my team, so definitely a tough one to swallow.”