Amid appeal, Braves' Josh Donaldson starts four-homer splurge against Pirates
Playing amid an appeal of a one-game suspension for his role in a benches-clearing incident, Josh Donaldson made the Pittsburgh Pirates pay in a big way.
The Pirates were leading, 2-0, when the Atlanta Braves third baseman hit a 365-foot homer off Pirates pitcher Chris Archer that bounced off the right-field foul pole in the second inning Tuesday night at SunTrust Park.
It only got worse from there.
The Braves hit four home runs, all solo shots, in five at-bats.
Right fielder Nick Markakis went back-to-back with a 417-foot shot over the centerfield wall. After left fielder Austin Riley struck out looking, catcher Brian McCann homered to left-center and second baseman Ozzie Albies followed with a 379-foot shot to right to give the Braves a 4-2 lead.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Pirates allowed four home runs in one inning was July 8, 1956, against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.
Willie Mays hit one of them off Vern Law.
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) June 12, 2019
At least it was for a good cause. The homers helped raise $628,000 in donations to prostate cancer research through the Home Run Challenge.
Safe to say the @Braves made a sizable contribution with their second inning heroics. pic.twitter.com/YnCye0G8MG
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) June 12, 2019
Donaldson was suspended for his role in the skirmish Monday night that ensued after his jersey was hit by a pitch by Pirates starter Joe Musgrove with two outs in the first inning.
Donaldson and Musgrove exchanged words as he headed down the first-base line, and benches cleared when Donaldson took steps toward Musgrove. Donaldson and Musgrove were both ejected, and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle joined them for arguing with home plate umpire Brian Gorman.
Archer got some revenge in the fourth inning, as he got Donaldson to strike out looking.
Call it four homers and a funeral.
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Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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