SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — Martín Pérez pitched five innings and Mauricio Dubón drove in three runs with a home run and a double as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Friday night at Truist Park before a crowd of 39,418.

The Braves improved to 43-21, while the Pirates fell to 34-30. The game lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Pérez allowed three runs and three hits while striking out five to earn his fourth win against three losses. Mitch Keller took the loss for Pittsburgh, dropping to 5-3 after surrendering six runs – five earned – and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. Raisel Iglesias recorded his 12th save with a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Dubón went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and three RBIs. Austin Riley contributed a double and an RBI for the Braves. The Pirates managed only four hits off four Atlanta pitchers.

The most decisive sequence occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Braves erased a 3-3 tie with three runs. Michael Harris II led off with a sharp single to center off Keller. Matt Olson followed with a single to center, moving Harris to second. Ozzie Albies flied out to center, allowing Harris to advance to third. Dubón then doubled to right field, scoring Harris and sending Olson to third. Dominic Smith’s sacrifice fly to center brought Olson home, and Dubón moved to third. Riley doubled to center, scoring Dubón to make it 6-3. Mike Yastrzemski walked, but Sandy León struck out swinging to end the inning.

The Pirates had taken a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Spencer Horwitz walked, Jared Triolo doubled to center, and Henry Davis sacrificed Horwitz home. Nick Gonzales singled to score Triolo, Gonzalez moved to second on a walk to Brandon Lowe, and after a flyout, Marcell Ozuna singled to right to score Gonzales. The inning ended with a strikeout.

Atlanta had scored first in the bottom of the second inning. Austin Riley walked, Yastrzemski was hit by a pitch, and after a strikeout, Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to right to score Riley. The Braves tied the game in the third when Ozzie Albies walked and Dubón hit a two-run homer to left field.

The Pirates did not score after the third inning. Atlanta’s bullpen of Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, Didier Fuentes and Iglesias combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Pittsburgh’s relievers Evan Sisk, Brandan Bidois and Dennis Santana combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings, but the offense could not mount a comeback.

Pittsburgh’s best opportunity after the fifth came in the ninth. Iglesias walked Bryan Reynolds to lead off, and Ozuna singled to left, putting runners at first and second. Oneil Cruz struck out swinging, and Ryan O’Hearn grounded into a double play to end the game.

Dubón continued a productive stretch at the plate. In his previous four games, he had gone 2-for-3 with a home run and one RBI on June 4 against Toronto; 1-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs on June 3; 0-for-1 on June 2; and 0-for-3 on May 31 at Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh’s offense had been potent in its previous series, scoring five runs in a win at Houston on June 4, nine runs in a loss on June 3 and 10 runs in a win on June 2. The Pirates had taken three of four from Minnesota at home before that. Atlanta had dropped a 7-2 decision to Toronto on June 4 but had won the previous two games of that series.

The Pirates travel again Saturday for the second game of this three-game set. Atlanta continues its homestand before traveling to Chicago to face the White Sox on Tuesday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pittsburgh 7, Atlanta 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave Atlanta a 63.10 percent probability to win. Atlanta was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of nine runs went under the over-under line of 8.5.