Spencer Strider took the mound for the final time in 2025, looking for further validation of his new pitching approach. Flamethrowing rookie Bubba Chandler started the game for the Pirates.
Both pitchers started the game with a 1-2-3 first, but faced some more challenges in the second. Strider pitched around two singles and a hit-by-pitch with some help from a double-play to hold the Pirates scoreless through two. Meanwhile, Drake Baldwin hit a really impressive triple off a 99 MPH fastball on the outside
edge that he took the other way at 104.3 MPH off the wall. He came around to score on an Ozuna single.
Strider gave the run back in the form of a Henry Davis leadoff homer in the third inning. Both pitchers kept the score at 1-1 through 5, as Drake Baldwin hit a double and Strider worked around a single and a walk. The Pirates got to Spencer in the sixth, as a single, double, walk, and single turned into two runs for Pittsburgh, giving them a 3-1 lead on some BABIP luck. Matt Olson hit a pop-up in the sixth and was run into by Davis, the catcher while standing and attempting to find the ball and was called out on interference after Davis dropped the ball. Olson and Snitker were pretty got and Snitker got ejected in the sixth, with Olson being ejected after the sixth as he was still seeking an answer to the question of what he was supposed to do in the situation. That is Olson’s first career ejection, through 1222 games.
Jurickson Profar struck out to end the eighth on a pitch-clock violation that also looked pretty dubious, as the ump show continued. Ronald Acuna singled, but Baldwin and Kim were unable to bring him home in the ninth, resulting in another loss that will help the Braves come draft season.
Join us tomorrow for the final game of the season and of Charlie Morton’s career at 3:15 PM ET
