Atlanta Braves at Pittsburgh Pirates

Matt Olson homered for the fifth time in his past seven games and Jim Jarvis homered for the first time in his career. These long balls, combined with Mike Yastrzemski's ninth-inning grand slam, overcame the three homers Bryce Elder surrendered in the Braves’ 10-5 win over the Pirates on Thursday afternoon at PNC Park. With a pair of victories in this three-game set, the Braves claimed just their second series win since sweeping the Pirates (June 5-7) in Atlanta. They have won just nine of their past 26 games, but four of those victories have come within their past seven games. Here are a few thoughts as Atlanta prepares to end the regular-season’s first half with a three-game series in St. Louis. **Regaining power** When Olson recently said he likely wouldn’t participate in Monday’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby, he was reminded the event is at Citizens Bank Park, where he has hit 15 homers in 139 career at-bats. Olson, who tied Dale Murphy for the most consecutive games played by a Brave at 740 on Thursday, didn’t budge from his stance. But he has spent the past week producing a nice home run display. Olson’s Statcast-projected 404-foot homer off Mitch Keller in the first inning was his 25th of the season and fifth within a span of 26 at-bats going back to Saturday’s two-homer game against the Mets. That multihomer performance ended his 16-game homerless drought. Olson’s power skid coincided with the Braves hitting just 14 home runs while losing 14 of 19 games from June 9-July 2. They have homered 16 times while winning four of their past seven. “You can't just claim that things are back to the way they were, but it's a good step forward,” Yastrzemski said. “I think we're regaining our confidence, knowing we're never out of a game.” Jarvis’ first home run came in what was his 21st career at-bat. The two-run shot off Keller in the fourth inning will provide a lifetime memory for the slick-fielding shortstop, who has never hit more than six home runs during a Minor League season. “It's just something you dream about,” Jarvis said. “Honestly, I’m not a power hitter. So it's kind of shocking it happened this early. But I mean, it was an unreal amount of fun running around the bases.” Yastrzemski’s shot off Dennis Santana was his third career grand slam.