Braves smack 3 home runs to beat Pirates, set record for most homers in a series

JT Brubaker suspects opponents are attempting to ambush the Pittsburgh Pirates early, knowing their anemic offense is practically powerless to recover from large deficits.

The Atlanta Braves opted for an aerial attack, as Austin Riley homered twice and Dansby Swanson once off Brubaker in a 7-1 victory Sunday afternoon before 39,874 at Truist Park.

Not only did the Pirates allow the most home runs in a series in club history, but the Braves set a major-league mark in the process by smacking 15 homers in four games. The Braves outscored the Pirates, 37-9, including a 20-1 win Friday. No wonder Pirates manager Derek Shelton was looking ahead to a day off Monday and a six-game homestand starting Tuesday with a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park.

“Obviously, they’re hot,” Shelton said of the Braves. “I think we need to get out of this ballpark.”

The previous most homers allowed by the Pirates was 14, set by the Cubs in a three-game series from Sept. 13-15, 2019. The Braves’ 15 homers are the most in a four-game series in MLB history. (The Colorado Rockies hit 16 in five-game series against the Montreal Expos in 1991).

The Braves (23-24) lead the majors with 78 home runs, and their 15 homers in the series are half as many as the Pirates (18-28) have all season. The Pirates and New York Mets are tied for last among the 30 MLB teams with 30 homers.

“This lineup’s really good. This lineup’s really hot. And this ballpark is conducive to, if you hit the ball in the air it’s going to get out of here,” Shelton said. “They are taking full advantage of that. We caught them at a time where they’re swinging the bats well. I think coming into the series they were leading the league in homers, so it’s one of those things that’s how their offense is built.”

And the Pirates couldn’t pitch around the Braves, who got four homers from Riley, three each from Ozzie Albies and Swanson, two from Ronald Acuna Jr. and one each from William Conteraras, Marcell Ozuna and Ehire Adrianza in the series. They accounted for two grand slams, two three-run homers, three two-run shots and seven solo homers.

And 2020 NL MVP Freddie Freeman didn’t even hit one.

The Braves have hit 67.9% (53 of 78) of their home runs this season at Truist Park, where the hitter-friendly dimensions — 325 feet to right, 335 to left and 375 to the gaps — play to a Braves lineup that loves to launch.

“They’re hitting a lot of home runs this year,” Brubaker said. “I think that’s what their gameplan is: to lift the ball, especially in this ballpark. Honestly, I’ve never really seen a ball fly the way it has here. I’m sure I’ll be even more surprised once we go to Coors.”

The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, when Kevin Newman reached on a fielder’s choice on a bunt to Braves pitcher Max Fried and scored on Bryan Reynolds’ RBI double to left field.

The advantage didn’t last long.

After Ozuna hit a two-out single, Brubaker got Albies to hit a grounder that should have been the final out of the inning. Pirates first baseman Will Craig, however, mishandled the ball, Riley the opportunity to drill Brubaker’s 0-1 pitch 404 feet over the center field for a 3-1 lead.

In the third inning, Brubaker found more trouble after giving Albies a free base by hitting him in the left foot with a pitch low and inside. Riley once again smacked an 0-1 pitch for a home run, this time a 394-foot shot to right-center for a 5-1 lead.

Swanson’s two-run homer in the sixth boosted the Braves’ lead to 7-1. That caused the Pirates to pull Brubaker (3-4), who allowed seven runs on seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

“He made just a few mistakes, and the mistakes that he made they capitalized and hit all three of them for home runs,” Shelton said. “It’s challenging when mistakes aren’t fouled off or they’re not hit for singles. They hit them for homers.”

Fried didn’t allow another hit until the seventh inning, when Gregory Polanco and Craig hit back-to-back singles but were stranded when Ildemaro Vargas struck out and pinch hitter Wilmer Difo flew out to center. Fried (2-2) earned the win after allowing one run on four hits and three walks in seven innings.

But the Braves’ homers were the story of the series.

“Obviously, they had a great series and hit a lot of balls out of the ballpark,” Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings said. “Just about every mistake we made went out of the park. Sometimes, I guess, you just got to tip your cap.”