PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — The Atlanta Braves parlayed a dominant pitching performance from Grant Holmes and a late-inning surge into a 3-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at PNC Park.

The sellout crowd of 20,062 witnessed a taut, low-scoring affair that belied the previous night’s offensive explosion, when the Pirates pounded the Braves 12-4. This time, it was Atlanta’s arms and a two-run eighth inning that decided the outcome. Dylan Dodd earned the win, his first of the season, with a scoreless inning of relief, while Raisel Iglesias recorded his 18th save with a perfect ninth. The loss went to Dennis Santana, who fell to 2-4.

Holmes, the game’s top star, delivered five innings of three-hit, shutout ball, striking out five and walking none. The left-hander, who had allowed one earned run over five innings in a win against the New York Mets on July 3 and tossed four scoreless frames in a loss at San Francisco on June 27, was in command from the first pitch. He retired the side in order in the first inning, surrendering only a single to Brandon Lowe before striking out Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez. Holmes worked around a leadoff walk to Marcell Ozuna in the second, a hit batter and a Bryan Reynolds single in the third, and a Marcell Ozuna single in the fourth, but each time he induced a groundout or a strikeout to escape.

On the other side, Pirates rookie Jared Jones was even more electric. The right-hander threw six innings of hitless ball, striking out eight and walking none. He faced the minimum through four innings, with the only baserunner reaching on a third strike that got away, and he mowed through the Braves lineup with a fastball that sat in the high 90s and a sharp slider. Jones retired Michael Harris II on strikes, got Ozzie Albies on a groundout, and fanned Matt Olson in the first. He repeated the pattern in the second, third, and fourth innings, striking out Drake Baldwin, Jorge Mateo, Harris again, and Olson again. The Braves did not record a hit until Ozzie Albies singled with two outs in the seventh off reliever Mason Montgomery, but Jones had already exited after 80 pitches.

The game remained scoreless into the eighth inning. Atlanta’s bullpen continued the zeroes after Holmes departed. Dylan Lee struck out two in a perfect sixth, and Dodd worked a clean seventh, getting two groundouts and a flyout. In the top of the eighth, against Pirates reliever Isaac Mattson, the Braves finally broke through. With one out, Mike Yastrzemski doubled to right field. Joey Bart then crushed a 1-1 fastball to left-center field, his fourth home run of the season, scoring Yastrzemski and giving Atlanta a 2-0 lead. Bart, who finished 1 for 3, drove in both runs. Mattson later allowed two more hits, including Harris’s double in the ninth, but the damage was done.

The Braves added an insurance run in the ninth. Michael Harris II led off with a double off Santana, advanced to third on a flyout, and scored on a single by Drake Baldwin. Baldwin’s line-drive single to center field made it 3-0.

Pittsburgh’s offense never threatened after the early innings. The Pirates managed only four hits, with Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, Ryan O’Hearn, and Marcell Ozuna each collecting one. They put a runner in scoring position only once, in the third inning when Henry Davis was hit by a pitch and later advanced to third on a Reynolds single, but Holmes struck out Valdez to end the inning. The Pirates’ last serious chance came in the ninth, when Nick Gonzales walked with one out, but Iglesias struck out Ozuna to end the game.

Atlanta improved to 53-38 with the victory, while Pittsburgh fell to 47-46. The Braves have now won 10 of their last 13 games, including a 14-3 rout of the Mets on July 4. The Pirates had won four of their previous five, including an 11-1 victory over Seattle on June 24, but could not solve Atlanta’s pitching.

The game was a stark contrast to Tuesday’s 12-4 Pirates win. In that contest, Pittsburgh scored in five different innings and pounded out 15 hits. Wednesday, the Braves bullpen combined for four scoreless innings, striking out six and allowing only two hits. Didier Fuentes and Dylan Lee each pitched a perfect inning of relief in the sixth and seventh, respectively, before Dodd and Iglesias closed the door.

The most pivotal sequence occurred in the top of the eighth. Mattson, who had entered with a 4.50 ERA, retired the first two batters he faced before Yastrzemski doubled. Bart then turned on an inside fastball and drove it into the left-center gap, clearing the wall. The home run was Bart’s fourth of the year and gave the Braves their first lead of the series.

Defensively, both teams were sharp. Braves third baseman Austin Riley made a clean play on a grounder in the third that started a force out. Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo handled several routine chances. The only error in the game was a passed ball charged to Braves catcher Bart, but it did not affect the score.

The game lasted 2 hours, 17 minutes, the second-shortest of the season for the Braves.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pittsburgh Pirates 5, Atlanta Braves 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Atlanta a 52.00 percent probability to win. The Braves were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 3 went over the over/under line of 8.5.