ATLANTA -- The third time was indeed the charm for the Atlanta Braves. Winless in their first two contests of the 2008 season, the Braves received a solid start from Jair Jurrjens and staged a late scoring barrage that highlighted a 10-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
The Braves took a 1-0 advantage early, thanks to a Martin Prado lead-off triple and a Chipper Jones run-scoring single. Jones drove home another in the third with a sacrifice fly. Matt Diaz belted his first homer of the season, a solo blast against Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny (0-1).
Jurrjens (1-0) pitched into the sixth inning, before running into trouble when Xavier Nady stroked a two-run single that made it a 3-2 game. On the night, Jurrjens allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out five men in five and a third innings of work.
Mark Teixeira struggled in his first three at-bats, grounding into an inning-ending double play in the first and grounding out with runners on to end the third and fifth innings as well. Facing Damaso Marte in the eighth, Teixeira belted a mammoth two-run homer to center that extended the Atlanta lead to 5-2.
The fireworks continued, as Atlanta struck for seven runs against a trio of Pirates relievers. Atlanta scored one against Tyler Yates, four off Marte and two more against Evan Meek, who was making his Major League debut.
Yunel Escobar picked up right where he left off on Monday, collecting two hits in four trips and belting a three-run homer off Meek that capped the seven-run Atlanta eighth.
On Deck: It is a week of long-awaited return starts by Braves left-handers. Mike Hampton will take the mound for his first action since the 2005 season, facing off against Pirates lefty Zach Duke. Game time is set for 7:10 PM EST.
Grant McAuley covers baseball for the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. For more, click here.