Extra-Inning Grit: Braves Bounce Back as Blewett Shines, Smith-Shawver Steady

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 10: Matt Olson #28 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates his home run to center field during the MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 10, 2025 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire)

The Braves returned to PNC Park for Game 2 of the series looking to shake off the disappointment of Friday night's loss to a Pirates team that had dropped seven straight coming in. With a chance to bounce back, Atlanta came out with some urgency it seemed.

The tone was set immediately as Alex Verdugo hustled down the line, sliding headfirst into first base on the game’s first play. Though he was called out, the energy was clear. Marcell Ozuna followed with a deep double off the center field wall, but the Braves couldn’t bring him in, stranding a good early chance.

AJ Smith-Shawver took the mound and quickly showed he was locked in. The young righty retired the side in order in the first, looking composed and in rhythm.

Sean Murphy, who’s been a bit quiet lately, led off the second with a one-out double to left. Michael Harris II followed and continued what’s been a more encouraging week at the plate. After some early season struggles, Harris is starting to look like himself again. His RBI double brought Murphy around and gave the Braves a 1-0 lead. With key hits against the Reds and now again in Pittsburgh, Harris is trending upward, an important sign as we move deeper into the season.

Pittsburgh mounted a quick response in the bottom of the second. Joey Bart and Ke’Bryan Hayes opened with singles, putting pressure on the young starter. Smith-Shawver didn’t flinch. He struck out Matt Gorski, then fanned two more batters to strand both runners, finishing the inning with five punchouts through just two innings.

Matt Olson gave Atlanta a bit more breathing room in the third. With two outs and no one on, he crushed a solo shot to straightaway center, his seventh homer of the year, to make it 2-0. Smith-Shawver got the first two outs in the bottom half before Bart again found grass with an RBI single, trimming the lead to 2-1 and giving Pittsburgh life.

The fourth started with promise as Sean Murphy drew a leadoff walk, but a double play off Michael Harris’ bat quickly erased that. Eli White grounded out to end the frame, and Atlanta left the inning empty-handed.

Still, Smith-Shawver kept things moving. He got Gorski to ground out, struck out Adam Frazier for his seventh strikeout, then induced a flyout from Alexander Canario to end the fourth. Both teams went quietly in the fifth. The game had settled into a low-scoring duel, where every at-bat started to feel a little heavier.

Smith-Shawver kept pounding the zone into the sixth. After retiring Andrew McCutchen, Bart collected his third hit of the day, and Hayes followed with a flyout. Gorski added a two-out single, prompting Brian Snitker to make the move. That would close the book on Smith-Shawver’s afternoon, a composed, competitive effort. He finished with 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on five hits, walking two, and striking out seven. His ERA now sits at a crisp 2.76.

“I feel like I did a pretty good job of executing my pitches and just kind of locating pitches where I need to when I need to,” Smith-Shawver said postgame. “I got behind in a few counts and kind of let up a few hits that way. There's always things to clean up and to go about this week, so I'm just kind of excited to try to keep this train rolling and just keep making my pitches and getting outs.”

Pierce Johnson came in and cleaned things up by getting Frazier, who dropped to 0-for-3, to end the inning.

Tanner Rainey took the ball for Pittsburgh in the seventh after a solid start from Andrew Heaney, and kept Atlanta quiet. Eli White managed a single, but that was it for the Braves. The Pirates made some noise in their half of the seventh. Canario led off with a double, and suddenly momentum seemed to be swinging. With the Braves’ bats quiet again, this felt like a turning point. Dylan Lee came on after a popout and rose to the moment. He struck out Cruz and Reynolds to preserve the one-run lead.

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Rafael Montero pitched the eighth and got a quick groundout from McCutchen, but Bart kept being a thorn with his fourth hit of the day. Ji Hwan Bae came in to pinch-run, stole second, and moved to third on a groundout. That set the stage for a key at-bat against pitcher Daysbel Hernández, who gave up a two-out RBI single to Gorski. The game was tied at two, but Hernández prevented further damage.

Atlanta went down quietly in the ninth, and Hernández returned for the bottom half, hoping to force extras. After issuing back-to-back walks to start the inning, he got a double play ball off the bat of McCutchen to move Cruz to third. With two outs, Hernández got Henry Davis to ground out and kept things level heading to the 10th.

Scott Blewett got the ball in the 10th. Henry Davis started on second and moved to third on a Hayes bunt. Gorski hit a fielder’s choice, and Davis was thrown out at the plate, a huge defensive moment. Frazier singled, but Blewett got Canario to fly out to center to keep the game tied.

Blewett has been a quietly impactful piece in this bullpen. You wonder how other teams let him go. His ability to stay calm and deliver in tense moments has stood out time and again.

“That’s amazing how he can pull that off,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I mean, and do it as efficiently as he did too. Yeah, you don’t see that. It’s hard to do, especially after the other day, and then to do the same thing today at home with the winning run there. So that’s huge for us because, you know, he was out there when this thing was over.”

Matt Olson also gave Blewett his props postgame. “Yeah, I mean, he’s stranded, you know, two guys, two different innings for the second time,” Olson said. “It shows a lot about him. I know he prepares a lot. He’s got good stuff. But, you know, just big stones on the mound in a big moment, getting the job done.”

Olson opened the 11th on second. Chase Shugart came in for Pittsburgh and retired Albies and Murphy, though Olson advanced to third. Harris was intentionally walked, and then Shugart sailed a wild pitch, allowing Olson to score and give the Braves a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom half, Canario began at second. Jared Triolo bunted him over, putting the tying run 90 feet away. Blewett stayed locked in, striking out Peguero, then getting Tommy Pham to ground out to Albies to end it.

It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty. Behind a poised outing from Smith-Shawver and some clutch pitching from the bullpen, Atlanta pulled out the kind of win that shows just how hard it can be to win in this league. Atlanta of course has some offensive issues that they have to get fixed. A win is a win, but it would be nice for them to win a little easier from time to time. Most of the Braves' wins this season has been tough late wins and that has to be taxing on a team. It just makes me think that this style of ball is not sustainable for the season. They have to find some effective offense somewhere.

On the bright side, the pitching has been there for the most part. That staff has carried this Atlanta team so far. From solid starts, to solid and effective bullpen support, they are looking better than most people give them credit for. AJ Smith-Shawver spoke on his groove and routine that he's getting down.

“Yeah, I feel like I'm starting to get in a nice routine,” he said. “Just the way I look at it is, I kind of have an idea of whenever I'm going to throw the ball next and just trying to get my body recovery and just trying to get myself ready to make that next start every single time. So I just kind of take it day by day and pitch by pitch is kind of my mindset.”

This was one Atlanta had to dig deep for, and thanks to solid pitching and capitalizing on Pittsburgh's late miscues, Atlanta was able to walk away with a win. The Braves improved to 19-20 on the season and have another chance at the ever-elusive .500 tomorrow. Post-game, Matt Olson said they weren't thinking about that. They show up to win every day. Chris Sale will get the ball tomorrow, and Pittsburgh will send out Carmen Mlodzinski. The first pitch is set for 1:35 PM EDT and can be seen on FanDuel Sports Network and listened to on 680 The Fan.