Pirates snap losing skid, start Don Kelly's tenure with win over Braves

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 9, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — The first game of the Don Kelly era had three unlikely heroes. It ended with a 3-2 win.

The Pirates, a day after firing manager Derek Shelton, beat the Braves on Friday night at PNC Park behind solo homers from Alexander Canario and Jared Triolo and six shutout innings from left-hander Bailey Falter. The win snaps a seven-game losing streak.

Left fielder Canario wasn’t even supposed to be in the starting lineup, as he was a late replacement for scratched Tommy Pham. He entered the game batting .122 with five hits in 41 at-bats, then opened the scoring off Braves starter Bryce Elder in the second inning with an opposite-field solo shot just inside the right-field foul pole.

Shortstop Triolo doubled the lead in the sixth. He’s also struggled, owning a .140 batting average before the game, but he blasted a high sinker from Elder out to left for his first homer of the year.

After Canario and Triolo, batting eighth and ninth, gave the Pirates a lead, Falter ensured they kept it. Falter allowed three of the first six hitters he faced to reach, then cruised, retiring 11 in a row between the second and fifth innings. He allowed just two hits, with only one runner reaching second base, and struck out three in his six innings.

It was the second consecutive quality outing for Falter. He threw seven innings last Saturday against San Diego, allowing two hits and a run in a 2-1 loss to the Padres. Like Saturday his fastball was effective, as he threw 40% fastballs, 28% sliders and 20% sinkers to consistently draw soft contact from the Braves.

The Braves nearly came back in the ninth. Dennis Santana allowed two runs on a triple and two singles, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. With the tying run on second, Santana got Ozzie Albies to line out to center to secure the win and earn his fourth save of the season.

It was over when ...

Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen nearly doubled the lead again in the sixth inning. With right fielder Bryan Reynolds on first, McCutchen hit a deep fly ball that hit the very top of the center field wall and stayed in play. It scored Reynolds, but if it had gone a mere foot farther, it would have scored McCutchen as well.

McCutchen was shown doing pushups after returning to the dugout.

On the mound

The Pirates bullpen was strong after Falter departed, making Kelly’s decision to remove him after 89 pitches the right one. Right-hander Chase Shugart retired two of the three batters he faced in the seventh, rebounding from a difficult Monday. Lefty Caleb Ferguson stranded a Shugart walk with a strikeout.

Right-hander David Bednar pitched into, then out of, the biggest jam of the game in the eighth. He allowed two singles to bring the tying run to the plate, then struck out Braves All-Stars Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson to strand them.

At the plate

The Pirates had five hits, but three of them went for extra bases. The lone singles came from center fielder Oneil Cruz, who hit a 117.6 mile-per-hour single in the first, and Reynolds, who singled to right in the sixth.

Most valuable player

Falter said after his outing against the Padres that he felt like the “weak link” in the Pirates’ rotation, but he has been excellent in his last two starts. His six innings were what Pittsburgh needed to snap the losing streak and start Kelly off with a win.

Up next

The Pirates and Braves continue their three-game series on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. Left-hander Andrew Heaney (2-3, 3.18 ERA) will match up with Braves righty AJ Smith-Shawver (2-2, 3.00).