PITTSBURGH _ The Braves completed a sweep of the Pirates because Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna are, more often than not, the best players on the field.
Wednesday's 2-1 win topped off a successful series in Pittsburgh, where the Braves had lost 12 of 16 coming in. The Pirates offense couldn't muster anything against whoever the Braves used, be it 20-year-old Bryce Wilson or the veterans in the bullpen.
After being swept by Colorado at home, the last three nights have been a godsend. The Braves looked like a playoff team. They might've delivered the final blow to the Pirates' waning playoff aspirations.
It began in familiar fashion: Acuna blasted a leadoff homer to left for an early lead. He hadn't done so since achieving three consecutive Aug. 13-14. The swing loomed large on a night starved for offense.
The Braves took advantage of starter Trevor Williams' exit. After being stonewalled by Williams and unable to breakthrough on Keone Kela, the Braves received a gift from Kyle Crick. The righty imploded in the eighth: Crick allowed a hit, walked two, threw a wild pitch and recorded no outs.
Freeman, with the bases loaded and one out, hit the ball to left fielder Corey Dickerson, allowing the previously walked pinch-hitter Adam Duvall to score.
Julio Teheran was perfect through four. His walk to Adam Frazier came back to haunt him when Colin Moran's two-out singled tied the game at one. Teheran threw 44 pitches across the first four innings but required half that amount to steer through the fifth.
He finished seven innings having allowed two hits and that lone run, courtesy of his only walk. Since getting shelled for seven runs in Miami on July 24, Teheran has produced a 2.98 ERA in his past five starts.
Working in Teheran and the Braves' favor was Pittsburgh's feeble offense. The Pirates managed two runs in three games against Braves pitching _ not hard to see how they were swept and dropped two games under .500.
Williams matched Teheran pitch-by-pitch. The 26-year-old stifled hitters after Acuna's homer. He completed six innings, allowing one run on two hits, his seventh consecutive start allowing two or fewer runs.
Meanwhile, the only man to punish Williams has nine home runs and 16 RBIs across his last 16 games. The spotlight centers on Acuna's move to leadoff, but manager Brian Snitker, among others, believe his surge was inevitable. It might've happened sooner had he not missed a month injured.
There are stats to exemplify how unique Acuna is. He's the 14th player in history to hit 20 homers before his 21st birthday. Nine of the 14 are Hall of Famers, excluding Alex Rodriguez, while two are still active (Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton).
It required 75 games for Acuna to reach the 20-homer mark, the fewest amount in history. In other words, through roughly four months of his career, Acuna is on a Hall-of-Fame projection.
Yes, seriously. That talk is a little rich, but it's hard to refute the company.
The Braves have a sweep. They have first place. And they have baseball's next superstar to boot. Up next, they'll travel to Florida for four games with the last-place Marlins.
