Nick Gonzales drives in 4 runs, Bailey Falter finishes 8th as Pirates beat Braves 11-5

PITTSBURG – Nick Gonzales drove in a career-high four runs and Bailey Falter struck out in the eighth inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Atlanta Braves 11-5 on Friday night.

Falter (3-2) had a 20-inning scoreless streak through three starts halted in the eighth when Ronald Acuna Jr. The 24-year-old lefty allowed six hits, striking out four and walking one in his first win since April 23.

“Just rolling as much as possible,” Falter said. “Things aren’t really going to change, I just want to get these guys to three pitches or less, first-ball strikes, no walks and I want to get (our) guys back in the dugout as quickly as possible. When we do that, good things like tonight tend to happen.”

Falter did this for most of the game.

“He did a good job,” Pittsburgh coach Derek Shelton said. “It’s a good lineup and they can score quickly, as we saw in the eighth. He did a great job moving his fastball both ways.”

Gonzales opened the scoring when he lined two outs and two runs to center field in the first inning. He also drove in two runs with a double in the sixth that extended the Pirates’ lead to 10-0.

Gonzales has 13 RBIs in 14 games since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 10. That’s as many runs as the second baseman had as a rookie last season in 35 games.

Gonzales, 24, said he now feels more comfortable in the major leagues.

“When you first come in, you’re getting your feet wet and there’s a lot of new things that you don’t really know, but at the end of the day it’s baseball and you’re playing the same game,” Gonzales said. “It’s obviously the highest level, so for me it was a big thing to come back. I got my feet wet and tested, seeing what I need to adjust and work on that. These adjustments that I can make now, I’m capable of making.”

Edward Olivares had three of the Pirates’ 14 hits and Andrew McCutchen, Connor Joe and Gonzales had two each.

Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run double in the third inning to make it 5-0 and Jared Triolo’s two-run home run to left center extended the lead to 7-0. Olivares had RBI singles in the third and sixth innings.

Ray Kerr (1-1) gave up five runs and seven hits in four innings in his first major league start after 33 career relief appearances. The left-hander was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

“If I start again, you’ll see a different Ray Kerr,” he said. “I’m better than that.”

The Pirates have bounced back after back-to-back losses to San Francisco in which they blew a five-run lead on Tuesday and a four-run lead on Wednesday. The Braves had won three of their previous four games, allowing just six runs.

Acuna’s three-run homer was his fourth of the season in 47 games. He hit 41 last year when he was the NL MVP.

Travis d’Arnaud added a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth to put the Braves up 11-5. Acuna, d’Arnaud and Michael Harris II each had two hits.

TRANSACTIONS

Braves: Signed INF Joey Wendle to a one-year contract and optioned INF Luke Williams to Gwinnett. Wendle hit .222 with one RBI in 18 games with the New York Mets before being released on May 20. … RHP Darius Vines was optioned by Gwinnett after pitching the final four innings in relief of Kerr. A corresponding lineup change will be made on Saturday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: RHP AJ Smith-Shawyer (left oblique strain) was placed on the 15-day injured list one day after making his season debut and pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs. The move opened up a roster spot for Kerr. … 3B Austin Riley (left intercostal strain) missed his 11th consecutive game and likely won’t play until at least Monday.

Pirates: Grandal (right groin strain) returned to the lineup after missing two games.

NEXT

Braves RHP Reynaldo Lopez (2-1, 1.54 ERA) will face RHP Mitch Keller (5-3, 3.84 ERA) on Saturday. Lopez’s only win against the Pirates came on September 24, 2016, when he helped Washington win the NL East title. Keller is 0-3 with a 9.97 ERA against the Braves in five career starts.

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