The Atlanta Braves were defeated by the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 in a Spring Training match at Bradenton, FL on Thursday afternoon.
The Braves jumped to an early lead in the top of the first inning on a sac fly by Pablo Sandoval which scored Dansby Swanson. But the Pirates charged back, thanks in part to a two run homer from Erik Gonzalez in the bottom of the fourth and a solo shot from Joe Hudson in the sixth. Chad Sobotka was tagged with the loss for Atlanta, and Chasen Shreve was the winning pitcher for Pittsburgh.
The Braves will be back on their Grapefruit League home field to take on the Minnesota Twins this afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 pm at CoolToday Park in North Port, FL. Max Fried will not be starting pitcher for the Braves as originally intended due to possible COVID-19 exposure.
A pair of Spring Training matches will air this weekend on WLAQ 1410 AM and 96.9 FM, courtesy of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. Their schedule includes an outing in Port Charlotte versus the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday and another on the Braves’ home field in North Port against the Boston Red Sox this Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1:05 pm with air time at 12:55 pm both days.
WLAQ has local fans covered during the Atlanta Braves’ ’21 regular season; Opening Day is set for April 1st!