Kevin Pillar took off his jacket, grabbed his bat and stepped into the on-deck circle looking to contribute. He took the one ball, no strike pitch from Baltimore’s Danny Coulombe and smacked a 405 foot home run over the left field fence, which gave his Atlanta Braves an important 5-4 victory Saturday night at Truist Park.
Braves reliever A.J. Minter got the win after pitching a perfect eighth inning and closer Raisel Iglesias got the save after striking out two Orioles in the ninth inning.
“Yeah, terrific teammate, just kind of personifies baseball to me,” Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider said of Kevin Pillar.