Acuña’s slam sparks Braves’ 20-run surge

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.

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 Austin 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.

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.

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 position player for the Braves not only reached base safely but recorded a hit.

The seven home runs were the third-highest total in franchise history. And the only time the Braves have hit more homers in a game since moving to Atlanta was on May 28, 2006, in a 13-12 win over the Cubs. Both Edgar Renteria and Adam LaRoche homered twice in that game.