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 Vázquez after giving up back-to-back home runs to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Dansby Swanson.
Vázquez 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.