PITTSBURGH -- Joey Bart came up just short in his attempt to halt Jared Jones’ perfection. But the Braves catcher didn’t miss when given another chance to damage his former team.
Bart’s two-out, two-run homer off Dennis Santana in the eighth inning gave the Braves a 3-0 win over the Pirates on Wednesday night at PNC Park. The catcher was playing just his second game against his former teammates since being traded from Pittsburgh to Atlanta on June 18.
After Jones prevented them from producing a baserunner for six innings, the Braves finally broke through and won for just the eighth time in their past 25 games. Bart’s contributions to this much-needed victory included guiding Grant Holmes through five scoreless innings.
“Those are my brothers over there,” Bart said. “I think I got closer with those guys this year. I’ve got a ton of respect for the Pirates organization. They gave me an opportunity. I respect that. But now I’m obviously thrilled to be an Atlanta Brave, and it's fun to compete against my old friends.”
After going through Sandy León, Chadwick Tromp, Austin Wynns and Jonah Heim while attempting to find a replacement for veteran catcher Sean Murphy, the Braves were happy to find an option as talented as Bart, an Atlanta-area native who starred at Georgia Tech before being taken with the second overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Bart missed nearly six weeks with a foot infection that initially created some long-term health concerns. When he was ready to resume playing in late June, the Pirates didn't have room for him. They instead stuck with Henry Davis, the first overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, and Endy Rodríguez, who has shown offensive promise this season.
So, Bart was sent to Atlanta in exchange for Hunter Stratton, who has made one rough appearance for Pittsburgh.
“Coming back here against the team that had just let him go, that’s always a little different for players,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “So, I’m sure it’s a great feeling for him.”
Bart wasn’t gloating or trash-talking. He entered Wednesday hitting .136 with a .587 OPS over 26 plate appearances for Atlanta. The veteran catcher was just happy to be celebrating a win at the end of a night that began inauspiciously.
Jones registered eight strikeouts and retired each of the 18 batters he faced over a season-high six innings. Pittsburgh’s starter was pulled because he hadn’t completed more than five innings this season. In fact, he had completed fewer than five innings in six of the seven starts previous to Wednesday. The Pirates are easing him back from the internal brace procedure he underwent last year to repair a damaged UCL in his right elbow.
Mauricio Dubón had a 100.4 mph groundout in the third, but the only other hard-hit ball against Jones was Bart’s 392-foot fly ball that Bryan Reynolds caught with his arm above the left-center-field wall. Per Statcast, the ball would have been a home run in each of MLB’s other 29 ballparks.
“He’s been texting me,” Bart said with a smile. “He’s like a brother. We’re always just busting each other and having fun. He got me there, for sure.”
But Bart had the last laugh.
Reynolds was unable to get to Bart’s game-winning home run. The two-run shot traveled a Statcast-projected 422 feet and landed about six rows deep beyond the left-center-field wall. It was the catcher’s fourth homer of the season and second since joining the Braves.
“He’s got some presence back there behind the plate,” Weiss said. “He can hit a ball in the seats like he did. He’s been a nice pickup.”