Pittsburgh @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2018 ) Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 5

The Pittsburgh Pirates conclude a three-game series Sunday at Atlanta and center fielder Starling Marte will not be happy to leave town, considering the damage he has inflicted on Braves pitching recently. Marte finished 2-for-4 in Saturday’s 5-3 loss to raise his career average against the Braves to .333, and a third multi-hit game in a row extended his overall hitting streak to eight contests - a span during which he is hitting .400.

Pittsburgh continues trying to be a playoff spoiler by splitting the last two games, but after allowing just three runs over 16 innings to open the series it gave up four in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday. Charlie Culberson’s miscue led to two unearned runs in the middle game of the series, and the Braves have committed five errors in the past four contests - leading to seven unearned runs. Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman, who came into Saturday batting .143 in a nine-game stretch, brought home the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning double. Shortstop Dansby Swanson added a solo homer among two hits for the Braves, who lead second-place Philadelphia by three games in the National League Central.

TV: 5:05 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet (Pittsburgh), FS South (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Nick Kingham (5-6, 4.92 ERA) vs. Braves RH Julio Teheran (9-7, 4.18)

Kingham gets the start for Ivan Nola, who left the team Saturday to attend for a personal issue, and the rookie will make his 13th start of the season. The 26-year-old struggled in his last two starts on July 26 (six runs allowed in three innings against the New York Mets) and Aug. 1 (one inning, two earned runs allowed on three hits against the Chicago Cubs). Kingham has pitched twice out of the bullpen since Aug. 26, logging three innings while permitting one run on one hit with two strikeouts.

Teheran has not lost in his past six starts, going 2-0 with a 3.47 ERA and a .179 opponents batting average while striking out 33 in 36 1/3 innings. The 27-year-old gave up four runs Tuesday against Tampa Bay, the most he’s allowed since surrendering seven on July 24, but for the second consecutive outing walked just one hitter. Teheran beat the Pirates on Aug. 22 in Pittsburgh, giving up one run on two hits with five strikeouts over seven innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta 1B Lucas Duda delivered a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning in his third at-bat since being acquired from Kansas City.

2. Pittsburgh’s bullpen, which posted a 2.93 ERA in August, gave up four runs on four hits over two innings Saturday.

3. Saturday’s victory bolstered Atlanta’s record to 36-31 at home and the Braves are 39-29 on the road.

PREDICTION: Braves 7, Pirates 2