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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jonny Venters thought he had given up a tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.“It sounded loud http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-joe-kelly-jersey ,” the Atlanta Braves‘ reliever said. “I thought it was gone.”Gregory Polanco’s drive to right field hit off the top of the 21-foot wall, however, and he was held to a double.Venters then got Francisco Cervelli to hit a game-ending comebacker, preserving Atlanta’s 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.Ronald Acuna Jr. hit another leadoff home run and Freddie Freeman had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to lift Julio Teheran and the Braves to a three-game sweep.Polanco was disappointed his drive did not clear the high wall.“It’s unbelievable, man,” he said. “I hit the ball really hard. It’s PNC (Park), man. Every other park, that’s a homer.”Acuna hit the fifth pitch out to left-center off Trevor Williams. It was the rookie’s 20th homer and sixth leading off the first inning Blake Swihart Jersey , including four in the last two weeks.“He’s so exciting,” Teheran said. “You expect him to hit a long ball every time he comes up.”The NL East leaders went ahead 2-1 in the eighth when Freeman, who leads the league in hitting, sent a fly ball to deep left field off Edgar Santana. That came after Atlanta loaded the bases against Kyle Crick (2-2), who did not retire any of the three batters he faced.“You’d love to score five or six runs every night, but that’s not always going to happen,” Freeman said. “These are the types of games you have to win in a pennant race. It’s a really good win for us.”Atlanta moved three games ahead of the second-place Phillies, who lost 8-7 at Washington.Freeman’s sac fly made a winner of Teheran (9-7) http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-rick-porcello-jersey , who allowed one run and two hits in seven innings while striking out five and walking one. Teheran is 2-0 with a 2.93 ERA in his last five starts.Brad Brach struck out pinch-hitter David Freese with a runner on third to end the eighth. Venters completed the three-hitter and earned his second save.Atlanta also mustered only three hits but won for the 17th time in 25 games.It was seven years to the day since Venters converted his last save for the Braves on Aug. 22, 2011, at the Chicago Cubs. The left-hander missed five major league seasons from 2013-17 while recovering from three Tommy John operations. He returned this year with the Tampa Bay Rays.The Braves acquired Venters in a July trade and he got his first opportunity to fill in for injured closer A.J. Minter (lower back tightness) on Wednesday.“I told Jonny I might be using him in some save situations and he was ready,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.The Pirates got their run in the fifth when Colin Moran broke up Teheran’s no-hit bid with a two-out RBI single. Pittsburgh’s only other hit was a two-out single by Cervelli.The Pirates have scored just 16 runs in their last 10 games, going 2-8.Williams had another strong outing, permitting one run and two hits in six innings, but again was hurt by a lack of run support. Williams’ ERA is 0.97 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break, yet his record is just 3-2. He is also 1-2 in four August starts despite a 1.44 ERA.“He’s pitched so well http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-brandon-morrow-jersey , and he pitched so well again tonight,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “It was just fun to watch him out there like a kid in the backyard going to work.”TRAINER’S ROOMBraves: C Kurt Suzuki (bruised left triceps) was out of the lineup after being hit by a pitch but is not expected to go on the disabled list. C Chris Stewart was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett to serve as a backup, and OF Michael Reed was optioned to the Stripers.Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (left leg discomfort) is listed as the scheduled starter Sunday at Milwaukee. He left his start Monday night against Atlanta after four innings. … 2B Josh Harrison (strained left hamstring) did not start for a third straight game but struck out as a pinch-hitter. … INF-OF Sean Rodriguez (strained left abdominal muscle) is likely to begin a rehab assignment in the next few days. … SS Jordy Mercer (strained left calf) took batting and fielding practice. … INF Jung Ho Kang (left wrist surgery), on the disabled list at Triple-A Indianapolis, has been cleared to begin gripping exercises.TRICK SHOT ARTISTBraves second baseman Ozzie Albies hit a foul ball in the seventh inning that rebounded off the netting behind home plate and struck him on top of his batting helmet.TURN BACK THE CLOCKThe Braves announced their weeknight and Sunday afternoon home games will begin 15 minutes earlier next season at 7:20 p.m. and 1:20 p.m., respectively.UP NEXTBraves: Open a four-game series Thursday night at Miami, with LHP Sean Newcomb (10-6, 3.73 ERA) facing RHP Dan Straily (4-6 Jason Heyward Jersey , 4.60).Pirates: Begin a three-game series Friday night at Milwaukee, with RHP Joe Musgrove (5-7, 3.31 ERA) starting against LHP Wade Miley (2-2, 2.18). New York Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray is the latest MLB player to have old tweets surface that featured offensive language.Following his start against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, Gray appeared to delete at least one tweet from 2012 with racist wording, per NorthJersey.com (warning: contains sensitive language):THE Curmudgeon NYer BabyBiirdI guess somebody told Sonny Gray that some old racist tweets have been unearthed so naturally he deleted his twitter account...LOL #Yankees rrx5RL1hWQThis makes Gray the fourth current MLB player to have old tweets containing offensive language surface. Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader was ordered to attend sensitivity training and participate in diversity and inclusion initiatives after racist and homophobic tweets he posted surfaced during the 2018 All-Star Game.Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner issued an apology Tuesday when tweets from 2011-12 that contained racist and homophobic phrases came to light. Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb wrote multiple tweets in high school containing similar language that emerged Sunday when he started against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Gray's Twitter profile shows he hasn't made any posts since January 2013. The tweet in question was posted in September 2012 when he was pitching in the Oakland Athletics' minor league system.