Braves smash home runs, history books

ATLANTA -- The Braves kicked off alumni weekend in style with a dominant offensive performance -- including seven homers and a pair of grand slams -- en route to a 20-1 victory over the Pirates at Truist Park.

“When this lineup clicks, up and down, it's scary and it did tonight. Hopefully it continues, and we build off that moving forward and can get on a hot streak,” said Braves third baseman Austin Riley, who contributed two home runs.

The Braves are the first team in MLB history to hit seven or more homers and two grand slams in a single game, according to STATS.

The party really picked up in the bottom of the second after Dansby Swanson got the Braves offense going with a leadoff double. Atlanta quickly loaded the bases, and after starter Ian Anderson struck out, Ronald Acuña Jr. stepped into the box and worked the count full against Pirates starter Tyler Anderson.

With Hall of Famer Chipper Jones looking on in the stands, Acuña hit a line-drive grand slam over the right-field wall to give him 14 home runs for the season, tying Shohei Ohtani for the MLB lead. Acuña had five RBIs in the game, which ties a career high set on Sept. 9, 2020, in the Braves' 29-9 win over the Marlins.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Braves began to pour on the offense, but this time from Ozzie Albies and Riley. With Marcell Ozuna on first, Albies hit a line-drive homer over the left-field wall. Just one pitch later, Riley had to one-up his second basemen with a 419-foot home run of his own into the upper deck to give the Braves a resounding 9-0 lead.

“[Riley’s] all-around game is impressive, and when he's going, that's a guy that can carry us,” said Anderson. “He’s got great range and seems to make great plays going to his left a lot. It's impressive what he's able to do with his approach in the box and always getting extra base hits. It's a great future for the team.”

In the bottom of the seventh, the Braves hit their second set of back-to-back homers of the game, thanks to their newfound one-two punch of Riley and Swanson. Each had three hits, and the pair is tied with seven homers on the season.

“[Swanson has] been really working at it. That's good to see. It's more the hitter that I expect him to be, and to his credit, he hasn't gotten down,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “He’s been working really hard every day, and it’s good to see it paying off for him.”

Things really got out of hand in the eighth when Pittsburgh brought utility man Wilmer Difo in for mop-up work. Atlanta scored eight runs off Difo, highlighted by a grand slam from pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza. The Braves were firing on all cylinders and put up 20 hits. Every starting position player recorded at least one hit.

The seven home runs fell just shy of the franchise record for most in a single game. Atlanta hit eight dingers on May 28, 2006, in a 13-12 win over the Cubs. The Milwaukee Braves also hit eight on Aug. 30, 1953, in a 19-4 win over the Pirates in Game 1 of a doubleheader.

“It was awesome, just kind of seemed like everything clicked offensively. Ian did a really good job tonight. I think it really goes to show what this team is capable of doing,” said Riley. “I know things may not seem like they’re clicking right now on a daily basis, but it's there and it's just a matter of time.”

Alongside another amazing performance from Acuña, Anderson once again dazzled from the mound. After giving up singles to Adam Frazier and Kevin Newman in the first, the right-hander regrouped and tossed six scoreless innings, including two strikeouts against the other Anderson.

“His command’s gotten better. He did have some really good curveballs tonight. That change is really good,” said Snitker. “Just the consistency of his pitches and command I think has been really good. Better than it was early, and Ian’s got that intangible thing where he never gives in, and he keeps fighting and he keeps pitching.”

“I always said he seems like he's been in the league for 10 years. Just the composure that he carries, and in high pressure situations, he never gets too big or too small, and it’s been really impressive,” said Riley.

The Braves put on a clinic from the plate, and it wouldn't be complete without an Ozuna selfie in the sixth after he hit his seventh home run of the season.

With the Braves hitting two grand slams, along with the Yankees turning a triple play and the Reds' Jesse Winker hitting three homers, it's the first time in MLB history all three of those feats occurred on the same day, according to STATS.