In a battle of the long ball vs. small ball, the Pittsburgh Pirates picked up a 10-8 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night in Turner Field.
With the victory, the Pirates won their fourth game in a row. They have also won 12 of their last 14.
The hot streak has helped Pittsburgh to gain some ground on the St. Louis Cardinals, who still lead the NL Central by six games.
The pitching for Pittsburgh struggled and sloppy defense resulted in three errors. However, the potent Pirate offense masked the deficiencies for Pittsburgh.
Neil Walker and Starling Marte both blasted homers, leading to five runs. Francisco Cervelli was the star of the evening for Pittsburgh, collecting four hits and driving in two runs of his own.
For Atlanta, the offense was just as potent. The Braves played their typical brand of small ball to put up eight runs.
The offense just wasn't enough to overcome a rough outing from the Atlanta bullpen, which gave up six earned runs over the final four innings.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Atlanta, who currently sits in third place in the NL East.
The second game of the three-game series is scheduled for tomorrow 7:10 p.m. ET. The Pirates try to capture the series win as the Braves look to bounce back at home.
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