Atlanta Braves at Pittsburgh Pirates

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ATL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	5	0
PIT	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0

Grant Holmes took the ball for Atlanta at 6:40 PM ET looking to keep the Braves from dropping back-to-back games in this series, while Jared Jones tried to give the Pirates a second straight quality start after a shaky 4.37 ERA to open the year. Holmes came in red-hot off a 5-inning, 1-run win over the Mets, and Jones was fresh off a 4-inning, 1-run no-decision against the Phillies where he punched out 6.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Braves(52-38)

LLLWW

3

+1.5-182+108o8.5-150

Pirates(47-45)

WWWLW

0

-1.5+178-111u8.5+147

Best BetBraves +100

Postgame

The Braves cashed outright at 3-0, with Holmes and the pen validating the bull case while Pittsburgh's post-O'Hearn hangover was the story.

Pregame

The Braves were live dogs on the road, and sharp bettors piled onto Atlanta pregame despite the lineup getting shelled for 12 runs the night before. That's the value in a divisional-leading team with a deeper roster catching a discount price against a Pirates club that just spent its whole offense in one game.

Both clubs are banged up in ways that matter. Atlanta is still without Ronald Acuna Jr. (hamstring), Ha-Seong Kim (finger) and catcher Sean Murphy (fractured finger), on top of a rotation missing Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach to season-ending IL stints. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is playing without catcher Endy Rodriguez (hip) and just placed shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin on the shelf with a torn tendon, while Oneil Cruz is only just back to swinging a bat off his own injury.

Grant Holmes

(6-4)·3.70 ERA

Jul 3 vs Mets

W

5.0IP

1ER

2K

1BB

82P

07/08 Lineup

Jared Jones

(2-1)·4.05 ERA

Jul 2 @ Phillies

ND

4.0IP

1ER

6K

2BB

73P

07/08 Lineup

None of that stopped the total from creeping up before first pitch, with sharp money piling onto Atlanta on both the moneyline and run line. That lean paid off in a way the market probably didn't expect — not with a shootout, but with the Braves' bats going cold right alongside Pittsburgh's.

Atlanta Braves

(52-38)

Jul 7L@ Pirates4-12

Jul 6Lvs Mets6-7

Jul 5Lvs Mets9-10

Jul 5Wvs Mets14-3

Jul 3Wvs Mets5-3

Pittsburgh Pirates

(47-45)

Jul 7Wvs Braves12-4

Jul 5W@ Nationals11-5

Jul 4W@ Nationals7-1

Jul 3L@ Nationals5-9

Jul 2W@ Phillies6-1

It's a stunning turnaround from 24 hours earlier, when Ryan O'Hearn authored one of the great single-game performances in Pirates history — a grand slam, plus two more three-run homers, breaking a franchise RBI record that had stood since 1939, in a 12-4 rout with Paul Skenes on the mound for the first time in 56 days. This time Pittsburgh's lineup that had just dropped 12 runs on Atlanta couldn't buy a run against Holmes and the Braves' bullpen.

Atlanta Braves

(13)

• PaternityTyler Kinley (RP) — Atlanta placed Kinley on the paternity list Tuesday.07/07
• PaternityEli White (RF) — Atlanta placed White on the paternity leave list Monday.07/06
• 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. (RF) — Manager Walt Weis said Tuesday that Acuna (hamstring) could begin a rehab assignment next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.07/07
• 10-Day-ILHa-Seong Kim (SS) — Atlanta placed Kim on the 10-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Wednesday, due to right middle finger inflammation.07/04
• 15-Day-ILMartin Perez (SP) — Atlanta placed Perez on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a left forearm contusion.07/06
• 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez (RP) — An MRI on Suarez's right elbow came back negative Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.06/27
• suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Smith-Shawver (elbow) struck out five and allowed two hits and no walks over four scoreless innings in a rehab start Sunday with Single-A Augusta.07/08
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) will likely report to Atlanta's spring training facility in early July and could be a candidate to rejoin the major-league rotation by late August or early September, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.06/29
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider (SP) — Atlanta transferred Strider (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Wednesday.06/17
• 60-Day-ILSean Murphy (C) — Murphy had the cast on his left hand removed Tuesday and is now wearing a splint to protect his fractured middle finger, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reprots.06/04
• 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
• 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Pittsburgh Pirates

(7)

• 10-Day-ILEndy Rodriguez (C) — Rodriguez (hip) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Atlanta.07/08
• 10-Day-ILSpencer Horwitz (1B) — Horwitz (hamstring) has begun a running program at the Pirates' spring training complex in Florida, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/07
• 10-Day-ILOneil Cruz (CF) — Cruz (hand) has resumed swinging a bat, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/07
• 10-Day-ILKonnor Griffin (SS) — The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a torn tendon in his left ring finger, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/07
• 15-Day-ILWilber Dotel (RP) — Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Dotel (lat) will make another rehab appearance with a minor-league affiliate Tuesday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/06
• 15-Day-ILEvan Sisk (RP) — Sisk was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/04
• 60-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL on Sunday.06/07

Atlanta still sits atop the NL East, but a 4-6 stretch over its last 10 games heading into this series had taken some shine off what once looked like a runaway division race, and the Braves themselves had dropped 3 straight before Wednesday. Pittsburgh, chasing a Wild Card spot, needed more nights like Tuesday's O'Hearn show to keep pace — instead its offense went silent when it mattered.

The Braves didn't need fireworks to snap their skid — just 2 runs in the 8th and 1 more in the 9th were enough behind a lockdown pitching staff. For a Pittsburgh team that looked unstoppable one night and toothless the next, it's the kind of inconsistency that could cost them down the stretch of a tight Wild Card chase.