Mike Yastrzemski walks twice as Braves-Pirates duel hits rain delay
Mike Yastrzemski reached base twice without a hit—drawing two walks and scoring on Jim Jarvis's fourth-inning homer—as the Atlanta Braves built a 6-4 lead over Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates before a rain delay halted Bryce Elder's rubber-match start at PNC Park on Thursday, July 9, 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Mike Yastrzemski went 0-for-1 with two walks and one run in Atlanta's lineup, then scored when Jarvis homered to right in the fourth.
- Keller lasted three innings (four hits, three earned runs) before Cam Sanders was charged with three more; Elder allowed four runs over four frames.
- With the series tied 1-1, Yahoo Sports reported the tarp came out in the fifth with Atlanta ahead 6-4; play was expected to resume shortly after 3:05 p.m. ET.
- CBS Sports listed Atlanta as a -113 money-line favorite with a 9-run total; SportsLine's model projected 9.7 runs and backed the Over.
Why did Mike Yastrzemski matter in the Braves-Pirates finale?
Batting eighth in Thursday's rubber match, Mike Yastrzemski did not need a hit to move the needle. Per live scoring data, he worked Keller for a walk in the third and reached again on a free pass in the fourth before Jim Jarvis launched a two-run homer to right that scored Yastrzemski and stretched Atlanta's lead to 5-2.
That patience at the plate fit a day when both starters were vulnerable. Elder and Keller entered with identical 6-6 records but shaky recent form—Elder carried a 4.01 ERA after being skipped in the rotation, while Keller sat at 5.02 after allowing five earned runs over six innings against Washington on July 3, as Bucs Dugout noted ahead of first pitch.
How did Bryce Elder and Mitch Keller perform?
The pitching duel that Pittsburgh hoped would flip the series quickly turned into a slugfest. Matt Olson homered in the first off Keller, and Ozzie Albies doubled home Michael Harris in the third. Keller was pulled after three innings, and reliever Cam Sanders surrendered three runs without recording a full out in the fourth.
Elder was not sharp either. Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez answered with back-to-back homers in the third, and Jake Mangum added a two-run shot in the fourth as Pittsburgh trimmed the deficit to 6-4. Dylan Dodd escaped the fifth for Atlanta before the weather intervened.
What stopped play at PNC Park?
Just as the Braves looked ready to close out the series, the skies opened over Pittsburgh. Yahoo Sports reported that Dylan Dodd had just preserved a 6-4 Atlanta lead when grounds crews rolled the tarp onto the infield during the fifth inning.
Forecasters suggested the delay might be brief, and by 3:05 p.m. ET both clubs were back in their dugouts awaiting a restart. For fans tracking the rubber match—and the oddball weather pause that froze a pivotal NL game—more offbeat sports moments live in our Bizarre News & Florida Man section.
What did the betting models say before first pitch?
According to CBS Sports, Atlanta opened as a -113 favorite with a 9-run total at PNC Park. SportsLine's simulation model, riding a 29-16 hot streak on top-rated MLB picks, projected 9.7 combined runs and identified value on the Over after 10,000 simulations.
Early offense made that projection look prescient: five combined home runs and 10 runs through five innings had already pushed the game toward a high-scoring finish—once the rain finally let the teams play ball again.