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 Left fielder Justin Upton hit a two-run homer to break out of a
September slump, and right-hander Julio Teheran helped himself with
a two-run single while snapping his four-game losing streak as the
Braves defeated the Pirates 6-2 at Turner Field.
Upton, who finished 2-for-4 with a walk, has 28 homers and 99 RBIs.
He hit .134 with a homer and six RBIs in his previous 19 games this
month.
"Why stop at 100 RBIs?" Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He can
get hot so quickly."
Center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit his 25th homer with a man on for
Pittsburgh, which clinched at least a wild-card spot in the
postseason Tuesday night. The Pirates (86-72) remain 1 1/2 games
behind the Cardinals, who lost 3-1 to the Cubs in Chicago.
The victory was just the fifth in 21 games this month for Atlanta,
which hadn't scored more than four runs in a game since Sept. 10.
The Braves (77-81) need to win all four of their remaining games to
avoid a losing season after posting 96 victories last year.
"We wanted to be in the playoffs, but that's come and gone," Upton
said. "Now our goal is to play good baseball and win some games.
Obviously, guys have some personal goals, but that's all going to
come in a team effort."
Teheran (14-13) used 96 pitches to go five innings, giving up two
runs and six hits. He struck out six and walked three, one
intentionally.
Teheran, who also had an infield single, previous was winless in
September despite a 2.67 ERA in his four starts. He finished the
year with a 2.89 ERA and 186 strikeouts in 221 innings and 33
starts.
"It was a really good season for him," Gonzalez said. "He ends the
year with a nice outing, a 'W' and also drives in a couple runs
himself."
Craig Kimbrel picked up his 45th save in 49 opportunities. The
right-hander came in with one out and two on in the ninth inning,
and he struck out McCutchen and right fielder Travis Snider to end
the game.
Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke (7-6) allowed all six Atlanta runs
and eight hits in four innings. He walked five and struck out three,
leaving after 86 pitches.
"It wasn't a good outing," Locke said. "I wasn't very consistent in
the strike zone and put them in a lot of good hitter's counts. I had
a lot of trouble locating."
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The Braves matched their run total for the first two games of the
series in the second inning. Third baseman Chris Johnson doubled,
center fielder B.J. Upton walked and Teheran reached on an infield
dribbler to load the bases for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, who
delivered a two-run single.
In the third inning, Teheran slapped a two-out single to center
field after the Pirates intentionally walked B.J. Upton to load the
bases with two outs. Catcher Christian Bethancourt set up the
scoring opportunity with a double.
Teheran came into the game receiving just 2.6 runs of support while
on the mound.
Justin Upton's two-run homer in the fourth inning came after a walk
to first baseman Freddie Freeman. Justin Upton picked on an
off-speed 2-2 pitch from Locke and sent a no-doubt drive into the
left field seats.
"It felt like I caught it pretty good," he said.
McCutchen matched Upton's blast with a two-run shot in the fifth
inning. It came on a 0-1 fastball, the drive quickly making its way
into the left field seats.
NOTES: Pirates 3B Josh Harrison singled in the ninth inning to
extend his hitting streak to 12 games. ... Pirates C Russell Martin
left the game in the fourth inning with tightness in his left
hamstring. ... Braves 3B Chris Johnson, who had two doubles, left
after five innings with a lower back strain. ... 2B Neil Walker, in
a 1-for-23 slump, was out of the Pirates' lineup. He struck out
three times Tuesday and is hitless in his past 15 at-bats. ... RHP
Edinson Volquez, who is 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA in his past nine starts,
will start the series finale for the Pirates on Thursday night. ...
RHP David Hale will start for the Braves in place of LHP Mike Minor,
who was shut down because of shoulder inflammation. ... C Evan
Gattis, who hasn't started a game since Sept. 7 because of illness,
is scheduled to catch Hale and play five or six innings. ... The
Pirates were the second team to celebrate a playoff berth at Turner
Field this year. Washington did it after clinching the National
League East title on Sept. 9. ... Pittsburgh's tentative rotation
for the weekend series at Cincinnati to finish the regular season
has RHP Vance Worley (8-4) followed by LHP Francisco Liriano (7-10)
and RHP Gerrit Cole (11-5).
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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