Dubon's Hot Bat
Braves Host Pirates Rematch: Dubon Chases HR Streak, Strider Faces Ashcraft
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Mauricio Dubón is on a historic run, and the Atlanta Braves want more. Dubón hit a two-run homer and an RBI double in Friday's 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving him home runs in three straight games — a career first — along with 5 hits, 7 RBIs, and a .455 average over the last three games, according to Reuters.
The teams meet again Saturday at Truist Park with a 4:10 PM ET first pitch. The Braves (43-21) are the heavy favorites, but Pittsburgh's Braxton Ashcraft has quietly become one of baseball's most dangerous starters. Atlanta has homered in eight straight games. Something has to give.
Dubón's Three-Game Power Surge Lifts Braves
Dubón started his streak on June 3 with a three-run blast against the Blue Jays. He followed it with Friday's two-run homer in the 3rd inning to tie the game 3-3, then added an RBI double in the 5th to put Atlanta ahead for good. He is now 5-for-11 with 7 RBIs over that stretch, per Reuters.
The surge is even more surprising given that Dubón has been playing sick. "I told the guys I'm gonna have my kid sneeze at my face every night from now on," he said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Manager Walt Weiss has kept him in the lineup, and Dubón has rewarded that trust with the best stretch of his career.
Strider Vs. Ashcraft: Two Very Different Stories
Spencer Strider takes the mound for Atlanta at 3-1 with a 3.77 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 31 innings. That sounds good — but concerns linger. He missed the start of 2026 with a strained oblique after battling command issues in 2025. He has issued 17 walks and given up 6 home runs since returning, according to Predictem.
Ashcraft is the quieter story. The Pirates right-hander is 5-2 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. He added a split-finger fastball in early 2026 that hitters are missing more than 40% of the time. Once overshadowed by Paul Skenes, Ashcraft is now widely seen as a first-time All-Star candidate, per Rum Bunter.
Pirates Fight to Stay in Wild Card Race
Pittsburgh enters Saturday at 34-30 with a 42% chance of making the postseason, per PlayoffStatus.com. The Braves, by contrast, sit at 98%. For the Pirates, this series is a chance to gain ground. They also got a feel-good moment on Friday when Marcell Ozuna — who played for Atlanta from 2020 to 2025 — got a standing ovation from Braves fans in his first at-bat, according to Miami Herald.
The Braves are also missing Drake Baldwin, their hottest bat before a 10-day IL stint for an oblique injury. Baldwin was posting a .931 OPS. Dubón has helped fill that void, but Atlanta's lineup depth will be tested if the power surge cools, per Predictem.
Trump's Salary Cap Push Clouds MLB's Summer
Off the field, President Donald Trump stirred up the sport on Friday. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said MLB should have a salary cap. "If you don't have a salary cap, you don't have a sport," he said. He added, "They should have done it a long time ago," per the Sports Business Journal.
The MLB Players Association is strongly against it. The union warned the move could cost players up to $500 million per year in lost wages and might trigger a work stoppage similar to the 1994-95 strike, per Sports Business Journal. The current labor deal expires after the 2026 season, making Trump's comments land at the worst possible time for both sides.
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