PITTSBURGH — It’s impossible to deny that JT Brubaker, for much of this season, has looked like an improved pitcher from 2021, when he tossed 124⅓ innings with a 5.36 ERA.
In a 6-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on Tuesday, Brubaker surpassed his 2021 innings-mark, and for four innings, he was on track to do it in style. Against a Braves lineup that’s near the top in MLB in multiple offensive categories, Brubaker was dealing. He allowed just one hit through four frames, erased that with a double-play ball, and struck out six Atlanta hitters along the way.
Then, the Braves ambushed him in the fifth. On the first pitch Brubaker threw to Travis d’Arnaud, the lead-off hitter in that inning, d’Arnaud swung, reaching down to golf a slider way out over the left-field wall. If that had been all for the rally, no worries. It only tied the game at the time, and, as mentioned, Brubaker had been cooking with gas.
