Pirates 10, Braves 8
ATLANTA -- Starling Marte ended an 0-for-21 slump with a two-run homer to spark the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-8 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday at Turner Field.
The struggling left fielder hit an 0-1 pitch from left-handed reliever Luis Avilan (2-1) for an opposite field homer to right, his team-leading 11th, to break a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning and put the Pirates ahead to stay.
Marte was 2-for-3 with two walks and scored three runs and the Pirates won for the 12th time in 14 games.
The beneficiary of Marte's home run was Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton (3-0), who had been lifted for a pinch hitter earlier in the inning. Morton pitched five innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and three walks, with one strikeout.
Pittsburgh closer Mark Melancon survived some ninth-inning drama to earn his 17th save. Melancon surrendered an RBI single to second baseman Pedro Ciriaco after his throwing error on a potential game-ending double-play ball up the middle -- the Pirates fourth error of the game -- but induced pinch hitter Joey Terdoslavich into a game-ending double play.
Atlanta starter Williams Perez struggled with wildness for five innings. The rookie allowed four runs on five hits and five walks, with five strikeouts.
The Atlanta bullpen, which ranks last in the National League in ERA, allowed six runs over the final four innings. Brandon Cunniff was untouched in two-thirds of an inning, but the Pirates scored two against Avilan, three against Trevor Cahill and one against Nick Masset.
Pittsburgh had 14 hits, with catcher Francisco Cervelli collecting the second four-hit game of his career.
The Braves scored two runs in the first inning. Center fielder Cameron Maybin led off with an infield single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on shortstop Andrelton Simmons' base hit. Simmons scored with two outs when Pittsburgh second baseman Neal Walker allowed a routine grounder to roll through his legs.
Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 2-1 in the second. Third baseman Jung Ho Kang walked and went to third on a single by first baseman Pedro Alvarez. Kang scored on Cervelli's sharp single to center.
Atlanta tacked on a run in the third to take a 3-1 lead. Right fielder Nick Markakis led off with a walk and scored on an opposite-field double to left by catcher A.J. Pierzynski with one out.
The Pirates took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning thanks to a towering three-run homer by Walker, his fourth. But the Braves knotted the score at 4-4 in the bottom half when first baseman Freddie Freeman beat the shift with an opposite-field double and scored on third baseman Juan Uribe's fielder's choice.
NOTES: Atlanta activated OF Joey Terdoslavich from the disabled list. He missed the first 53 games after spraining his left wrist in an unusual unassisted double play March 21 in spring training. He played nine rehab games for three different minor league teams and hit .310 (9-for-29) with four doubles. To make room for Terdoslavich, veteran OF Eric Young was designated for assignment. In 35 games, Young was batting .169 and lost playing time when Cameron Maybin played well enough to earn the everyday starting job in center field. ... Atlanta 2B Jace Peterson was out of the lineup Monday with soreness in his left hand. Peterson had a cortisone shot and will also sit out Saturday's game. He is available to pinch run or as a defensive replacement, if needed. He was replaced in the field by Pedro Ciriaco and in the leadoff spot by Maybin. ... Scheduled starters for Saturday are Atlanta RHP Julio Teheran (4-2, 4.87 ERA) vs. Pittsburgh LHP Jeff Locke (3-3, 5.34 ERA).