Kyle Wright allowed two hits over seven efficient innings, Matt Olson hit a grand slam that found the Allegheny River and the Atlanta Braves drilled the sloppy Pittsburgh Pirates 14-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Wright (16-5) struck out eight and walked one to tie Houston’s Justin Verlander and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tony Gonsolin for most victories in the majors. Wright needed just 73 pitches to record 21 outs while trimming his ERA to 2.99.
Atlanta has won 14 of 16 overall to keep pressure on the NL East-leading New York Mets.
The lone highlight for the Pirates came from rookie Oneil Cruz, who ripped the hardest-hit ball since Major League Baseball began measuring exit velocity in 2015. The ball left Cruz’s bat at 122.4 mph and slammed into the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field with two outs in the third. He was held to a single.
William Contreras added his 17th home run for Atlanta, bashing a pitch from Mitch Keller (4-10) into the left-field bleachers in the second inning.
