Braves 5, Pirates 4
ATLANTA -- The bullpen blew yet another save, but this time it didn't cost the Atlanta Braves a victory.
Christian Bethancourt led off the bottom of the ninth inning by slicing reliever Vance Worley's first pitch over the right field fence as the Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 Saturday night.
It was the first career homer for the young catcher and his third hit of the game.
The Pirates had tied it in the eighth on a two-run single by right fielder Gregory Polanco, his third hit of the game, against reliever Jim Johnson.
Former Pittsburgh closer Jason Grilli pitched a perfect top of the ninth, though, and Bethancourt made him a winner with his opposite-field blast.
Braves starter Julio Teheran came into the eighth having faced just two batters above the minimum but was pulled with one out after allowing singles to catcher Francisco Cervelli and shortstop Jordy Mercer.
After Johnson got the second out on a grounder that moved up the runner, Polanco came through with a two-run single to tie the score.
Teheran gave up five hits, walked none and struck out five. He was pulled after 103 pitches, which matched his season high.
The Braves had lost their previous three games despite scoring 22 runs after their bullpen imploded each time. It was the first time since 1945, when the franchise was in Boston, that the Braves had lost three straight while scoring at least six runs in every game.
Pirates starter Jeff Locke went 6 1/3 innings while allowing seven hits and the Braves' four runs. He struck out four and walked two.
Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin, who had two hits and a stolen base, drove in Bethancourt in the seventh with a single for a two-run lead.
The Braves took the lead on third baseman Chris Johnson's leadoff home run in the second, then turned to small ball in the third to make it 2-0.
Locke left a 1-1 fastball in the middle of the plate to Johnson and he sent a drive to center field that bounced off the top of the fence for his first homer of the season.
In the third, Maybin singled leading off, stole second base, moved to third on a grounder and scored on first baseman Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly.
The Pirates tied it on one swing by center fielder Andrew McCutchen in the fourth. Teheran hung a 2-2 slider and, with Polanco running after a leadoff single, McCutchen lined his eighth homer of the season into the seats in left-center field.
It was the 13th home run allowed by Teheran this season -- the fourth most in the National League.
The Braves went back ahead in the bottom of the fourth with the aid of Jonny Gomes' first stolen base since 2013. The veteran left fielder walked with two outs and scored on shortstop Andrelton Simmons' single.
NOTES: 2B Jace Peterson was out of the Braves lineup for the second straight game after receiving a cortisone injection Thursday to ease the pain in his bruised left thumb. ... INF Juan Uribe moved from third base to fill in. He hadn't played second since 2011 while with the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... RHP Gerrit Cole, among the major league leaders with an 8-2 record and 1.90 ERA, will start the series finale for the Pirates on Sunday against LHP Alex Wood (4-2, 3.19 ERA). Both have won three straight starts. ... The teams play June 26-28 in Pittsburgh. ... The Braves won three of four in Atlanta last season after the Pirates took two of three in Pittsburgh.