PITTSBURGH (AP) – Joe Musgrove gave Pittsburgh’s beleaguered bullpen a welcome break, pitching into the ninth inning for the first time in his career as the Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 7-4 in a game delayed more than two hours by rain Wednesday night.
Musgrove (4-6) bounced back from a pair of bumpy starts to overwhelm the Braves and help Pittsburgh end a three-game skid. The right-hander retired 14 straight and struck out six without issuing a walk.
He took the mound in the ninth looking for his first complete game, but was pulled for closer Felipe Vzquez after giving up back-to-back home runs to Ronald Acua Jr. and Dansby Swanson.
Vzquez allowed an RBI double to Nick Markakis but avoided major damage as the Pirates won for just the fifth time in 16 games.
Elias Diaz hit his first home run of the season for Pittsburgh. Colin Moran added his seventh for the Pirates, who jumped on Atlanta starter Kevin Gausman to give Musgrove plenty of wiggle room.
Diaz sent a two-run shot to the left field bleachers in the second and Moran drilled one into the Atlanta bullpen just beyond the center field wall in the fifth.
Gregory Polanco went 3 for 4. Starling Marte added three hits and Josh Bell returned from his first day off this season to deliver an RBI double for Pittsburgh, which touched Gausman (2-5) for seven runs.
Atlanta rookie left fielder Austin Riley produced his 26th RBI in his 19th career game, a sharp single in the second, but otherwise the Braves did little against Musgrove.
The start was held up 2 hours, 4 minutes, due to rain, though the grounds crew didn’t even have the tarp on the field when the delay began and the precipitation was only moderate at best.
Not that the Pirates were complaining. Better wait out any potential rain than have Musgrove start, then have the rain come and force a delay, potentially ending his night early.
When the skies cleared, the Pirates wasted little time getting to Gausman. A week removed from giving up eight runs in just one inning of a loss to Washington, Gausman again ran into trouble early.
Polanco singled with one out in the second and the deluge began. Diaz – making his 15th start in the last 20 games while catcher Francisco Cervelli deals with concussion-like symptoms – ripped a liner to the seats in left for his first home run since last September.
Musgrove, Kevin Newman, Bryan Reynolds and Marte followed with singles. Bell sliced a ball down the left field line to score Reynolds. The barrage would have continued if Marte hadn’t tried to score from first on the play, only to be thrown out by 20 feet.
When Gausman slowly made his way to the dugout, the Braves trailed 5-1. He hung around for five innings to help save Atlanta’s bullpen a night after the relievers worked five innings in a 12-5 comeback win.
There would be no rally this time. When Moran’s home run in the fifth sailed over the fence, the Pirates led by six and Musgrove was cruising.
ROTATION MOVES
The Pirates are shuffling their injury-ravaged starting rotation ahead of a weekend series in Milwaukee. Rookie Davis will get his first start since 2017 on Friday. Davis, who has appeared in four games as a reliever since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis last month, went 1-3 with an 8.59 ERA in six starts for the Reds in 2017. Davis replaces Nick Kingham, who posted an 11.05 ERA in six appearances since May 3.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Trevor Williams (right side strain) was scheduled to throw a bullpen. If there are no setbacks, he will pitch a simulated game Saturday. … RHP Jameson Taillon (right arm strain) and RHP Keone Kela (right shoulder inflammation) are both heading to Pirate City in Bradenton, Florida, to start rehabilitation. … SS Erik Gonzalez (fractured collarbone) has been cleared to start hitting.
UP NEXT
Braves: Mike Foltynewicz (1-4, 6.10 ERA) gets the ball for today’s series finale. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 6.88 ERA in four career starts against Pittsburgh.
Pirates: Chris Archer (2-5, 5.66 ERA) earned his first victory since April 7 when he beat the Brewers last Friday. Archer has won consecutive starts just twice since the beginning of the 2017 season.
