Pirates Fall to Braves in 2025 Season Finale

Braves right-handed starting pitcher Charlie Morton threw a scoreless first inning and then after he struck out Pirates center fielder Alexander Canario, he left the game, marking the end of his 18th season MLB career.

Morton also played for the Pirates for seven seasons from 2009-15, joining the team in the trade that sent Nate McClouth to the Braves.

The Pirates had their first scoring opportunity in the top of the third inning, as third baseman Cam Devanney led off with a single and left fielder Tommy Pham walked with two outs, but designated hitter Andrew McCutchen grounded out to end that chance.

Oviedo would throw four more scoreless innings for the Pirates, ending his outing after five innings, with three hits, three walks and the two-run home run allowed, while posting three strikeouts over 71 pitches.

Left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, who came in for Morton, kept the Pirates scoreless through the fifth inning, but gave up a one-out double to pinch-hitter Bryan Reynolds in the top of the sixth inning.

Catcher Joey Bart came through for the Pirates with a single, scoring Reynolds to halve the deficit to 2-1.

Rookie left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco came in for Oviedo in the bottom of the sixth inning and gave up a leadoff, ground-rule double to Olson.

Barco stranded Olson, as he struck out Acuña, got catcher Drake Baldwin to fly out and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim to ground out, keeping the Pirates within a run.

He also finished his second MLB outing, throwing a scoreless seventh inning, but the Pirates offense struggled to do anything, keeping it a 2-1 game through the top of the eighth inning.

Right-handed relief pitcher Yohan Ramírez came on for the Pirates in the bottom of the eighth inning and gave up a leadoff double to Braves second baseman Nick Allen.

Ramírez struck out left fielder Jurickson Profar, but then gave up a single to Olson, scoring Allen to make it a 3-1 lead to the Braves.

He then walked Acuña, but got a grounder from Baldwin, which Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo tagged second base and then threw a poor ball to first baseman Rafael Flores, who couldn't get it for the double play, allowing Olson to score to make it 4-1.

The Pirates finish with a 71-91 record in 2025, marking their seventh consecutive losing season and the 29th in the past 33 seasons.

It is also their 10th season missing the playoffs and 30th in the past 33 seasons doing so, along with the sixth season in the past seven seasons that they've finished last in the National League Central Division.