Pirates walk off vs. Braves in 2-1 win

This whole winning thing is way more fun than losing.

After losing six straight over the past week, the Pittsburgh Pirates have now strung together three straight wins, including tonight’s 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The game was pretty timid with very little offense on each side. Bryan Reynolds brought home Adam Frazier on a sacrifice fly in the third inning to take the lead, and Orlando Arcia evened up the score with a solo homer in the top of the fifth.

The score remained 1-1 until the ninth inning when Rodolfo Castro, making his first appearance since April 21, drew a walk and got on base for the first time in his MLB career. Frazier singled to bring the winning run to second base. Ke’Bryan Hayes walked to load the bases with no outs.

Despite a pair of walks, Braves manager Brian Snitker elected to keep relief pitcher Tyler Matzek in the game to face Bryan Reynolds. Matzek ended the game on a four-pitch walk to score Castro and win the game for the Pirates.

Today marks the third straight game the Pirates have allowed one run or fewer, which means a major pat on the back should be given to the pitching staff and today’s starter, Chad Kuhl.

In quite arguably his best showing of the year, Kuhl tossed six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts. He then passed the ball along to the bullpen, where Chris Stratton, David Bednar and Richard Rodriguez combined to allow just one hit in the final three innings.

Last night, the offense won the game. Tonight, it was the pitching. Let’s hope both show up tomorrow for a possible sweep of the Braves. First pitch is at 12:35 p.m. EST.