The Braves are 44-21 and have won 18 of their last 21 series. They've already locked this one up — Dominic Smith went deep on Saturday, Mauricio Dubón has now homered in three straight, and Atlanta clawed back from an early 3-0 deficit to win 6-3 for the second consecutive day. They are basically a buzzsaw right now, and the Pirates have run into them at the worst possible moment.
Pittsburgh is doing this without a chunk of the roster. Joey Bart is still on the IL with a foot issue, shortstop prospect Konnor Griffin is down with a flexor strain, and the bullpen is patched together without Mike Clevinger (MCL sprain, six weeks) and Chris Devenski. Atlanta isn't exactly whole either — Sean Murphy is still in a splint, Jurickson Profar is gone for the year on the PED suspension, and Michael Harris II sat Saturday with a back issue — but you'd much rather be the team with the 23-game lead in the win column.
- Day-To-DayAnthony Solometo (SP) — Solometo is sidelined at Double-A Altoona with recurring left shoulder discomfort, Jose Negron of DK Pittsburgh Sports reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayOddanier Mosqueda (RP) — Mosqueda will not throw for a couple weeks due to left forearm inflammation, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DayMike Clevinger (RP) — Clevinger is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks after being diagnosed with an MCL sprain in his right knee, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.05/08
- Day-To-DaySean Sullivan (SP) — Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Sullivan is battling right elbow soreness, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILKonnor Griffin (SS) — The Pirates placed Griffin on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a flexor strain in his right elbow.05/31
- 10-Day-ILJoey Bart (C) — Bart (foot) has been cleared to resume weight room activity and play light catch, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.05/29
- 15-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) is expected to resume throwing bullpen sessions during the upcoming week, MLB.com reports.06/01
- Day-To-DayMichael Harris II (CF) — Harris (back) is not in Atlanta's starting lineup against Pittsburgh on Saturday, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.06/06
- Day-To-DayBlake Burkhalter (RP) — Triple-A Gwinnett placed Burkhalter on the 7-day injured list March 27 with back spasms, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.05/08
- 10-Day-ILDrake Baldwin (C) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday that Baldwin (oblique) could be activated from the 10-day injured list during the team's June 16-21 homestand, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.06/02
- 10-Day-ILKyle Farmer (DH) — Farmer went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBI in Sunday's rout of the Guardians.05/18
- 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-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-ILHurston Waldrep (SP) — Waldrep (elbow) allowed no hits and walked two batters over two scoreless innings during a rehab start Monday in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.06/01
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) has begun throwing on flat ground, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.05/26
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Manager Walt Weiss said Friday that Smith-Shawver (elbow) has been throwing bullpen sessions, and the next step in his rehab is to face live hitters, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/22
- 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-ILDanny Young (RP) — Atlanta transferred Young (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.05/08
- 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
The road map for the Pirates is pretty simple: get to Elder early before he settles in, hope Chandler's walk rate behaves on the road, and pray the bullpen can navigate the back half against a lineup that has scored 6 runs in this series without anyone really breaking a sweat. The market is telling you to take the Braves and run. Hard to argue.