JT Brubaker goes 7 innings, but Pirates show no support in loss to Braves

Derek Shelton wanted to see the look in JT Brubaker’s eyes. He also hoped to hear those words every manager wants to hear:

“Yeah, I got him.”

The seventh inning at Atlanta’s Truist Field provided an instructive moment for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Shelton and Brubaker on Thursday night.

Too bad for Brubaker, the inning turned out well, but the outcome was the Pirates’ 31st loss in 55 games – 3-1 to the World Series champion Braves (31-27).

The Braves were clinging to that 3-1 lead in the seventh when Brubaker put two runners on base – a single by Michael Harris II, followed by a walk to leadoff hitter Ronald Acuna Jr.

There were two outs — Brubaker had retired the previous 12 batters in a row — but Shelton knew the game could get out of hand if the next batter, Dansby Swanson, found a pitch he liked.

So, Shelton walked to the mound to speak to Brubaker.

“We thought he was in a pretty good spot,” Shelton said. “I just wanted to check on him mentally. His eyes were good, good conversation.”

As it turned out, Brubaker struck out Dansby on his 99th pitch, a 94 mph sinker.

“Every time he comes out and signals (to the bullpen), I always want to say, ‘I got one more.’ But it’s his decision. Today, he asked me, ‘Do you got this guy?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I got him,’ ” Brubaker said. “It was awesome for him to let me go one more batter. I knew I could go right after Swanson. That’s just something to build off of.”

Shelton said: “He did a nice job finishing it off with Dansby.”

The game turned out to be the Pirates’ third loss in a row and the Braves’ eighth consecutive victory, but it might have been a turning point for Brubaker, who still is looking for his first victory this season (0-6).

“I thought his stuff got stronger (as the game progressed),” Shelton said. “We just didn’t get him any run support.

“His last three outings he’s thrown the ball well. The last couple we didn’t play well defensively behind him. This wasn’t on Bru. This was the fact that we just didn’t score.”

Brubaker dropped his ERA to 4.60 after it had risen to 6.20 at the end of April.

Brubaker’s seven-inning outing tied his career high set last season in Minnesota and was only the second time a Pirates pitcher has gone that long in 2022. Jose Quintana went seven on May 15.

Brubaker was in command most of the night. He surrendered only six hits and struck out seven batters.

He struggled in only two innings. He struck out six of the 12 batters he retired consecutively from the third into the seventh inning.

His trouble innings were the second and third.

He walked Travis d’Arnaud in the second and hit Acuna Jr. with a pitch in the third, and both players scored.

Acuna stole second and scored on a single by Swanson. Three batters later, Swanson scored on Travis d’Arnaud’s double.

“I felt good,” Brubaker said. “The one thing that sticks out is the hit by pitch and the four-pitch walk. You can’t defend walks.

“They put the ball in play and ended up getting those two guys across on free passes.”

He said he made no adjustments after d’Arnaud’s double.

“He hit a good pitch. I stuck to the same gameplan, went right after them, utilizing all pitches and just being in the zone.”

The Pirates, actually, outhit the Braves, 8-6, but couldn’t solve Braves starter Max Fried, who gave up all eight.

The only run was Jack Suwinski’s eighth home run that leads all National League rookies and ties him with Bryan Reynolds for the team lead.

“(Fried) is 91, 92 (mph) and then when he has to go back and get (it), he’s 94, 95, 96,” Shelton said. “The breaking ball changes its shape. It’s the sign of a good, young pitcher who knows how to execute pitches with runners in scoring position. It’s really impressive for a young kid.

“You saw a really well-pitched ball game by both clubs, and they got a couple two-out hits that we did not get.”