Braves can’t overcome Pittsburgh’s strong start

The Atlanta Braves lost their first game of their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The first few innings set the stage for how Friday night’s game would play out inside PNC Park. The Pirates won against the Braves 11-5.

After being recalled from Triple-A in time for his first major league start Friday, it didn’t go well for Ray Kerr or the Braves. He lasted four innings, allowed seven hits and five earned runs. He had six strikeouts and just one walk.

Kerr was relieved by Darius Vines.

Vines took over and it was much of the same for the Pirates – they had no problem putting up points against Atlanta on Friday night. Pittsburgh’s lead grew to 10-0 by the end of the sixth inning.

After a strong series against Chicago, Atlanta’s offense returned to a form we’ve seen throughout the season so far. Every bat in the lineup is a scoring threat, but for some reason the Braves go through stretches of games where it seems like they’re going to struggle to score.

Atlanta put five runs on the board in the eighth. Michael Harris, Travis d’Arnaud and Ronald Acuña all had two hits. The team finished with seven total hits in the loss.

The Braves will face the Pirates in the second game of the series on Saturday and will look to even the series. First pitch from PNC Park is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET.