PITTSBURGH -- Freddie Freeman was humbled to join an exclusive club that includes Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones and a few other Braves legends Tuesday night. But most of his good mood after the Braves’ 12-5 win over the Pirates stemmed from being part of a lineup that includes Austin Riley,

PITTSBURGH -- Freddie Freeman was humbled to join an exclusive club that includes Hank Aaron, Chipper Jones and a few other Braves legends Tuesday night. But most of his good mood after the Braves’ 12-5 win over the Pirates stemmed from being part of a lineup that includes Austin Riley, who fueled the late home run barrage that provided Atlanta with comeback victory at PNC Park.

“There’s not much more you can say about Austin Riley,” Freeman said. “You’re almost starting to expect it when he gets in those big situations. That pitch had to be four or five inches off the plate and he just put it in the seats. It’s special what he’s doing.”

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The pitch Freeman referenced was an 0-1 slider from Kyle Crick, who entered the game having not allowed a home run in 143 at-bats against right-handed hitters dating back to April 28, 2018. This impressive stretch ended in the seventh inning, when Riley’s long reach allowed him to reach across the plate, connect with the outside pitch and watch it clear the outfield wall, just inside the right-field foul pole.

The go-ahead three-run shot was one of nine home runs Riley has hit within the first 71 at-bats of his career. Three of these homers have either tied the game or given the Braves a lead in the sixth inning or later.

“I think he just sold out away and went with it and went right down the line,” Crick said.

Riley was sitting on a slider primarily because (as he remembers), “I could have swung twice the first pitch, I missed it so bad.”

But to think he was focused on a scouting report regarding Crick would be giving him too much credit. In fact, after the game the Braves’ latest phenom admitted he didn’t remember who had thrown the pitch.

“The kid can’t miss anything,” Braves starting pitcher Max Fried said. “He’s taking great at-bats every single time.”

What started out as a miserable night for Fried, who allowed five consecutive two-out hits in a four-run first inning, evolved into a memorable one for the Braves, who are within a half-game of the first-place Phillies in the NL East. Their recent rise has been fueled by Riley, who has the team’s fourth-highest home run total despite not making his Major League debut until May 15.

“They are on fire,” Pirates starter Steven Brault said. “They’re a team that, when you face them, you think you’re going to get free-swingers. You’ve got a lot of guys who are big-swing guys. But they’re mature. They wait for their pitch and they look for what they want, and they did a really good job of that tonight.”

Josh Donaldson has been a quiet contributor to the lineup to this point, but he provided a reminder of his potential when he drilled a 439-foot three-run shot in the eighth inning to give the Braves a few insurance runs. It was his eighth home run of the season and first since May 17. But the Braves have been anticipating a breakout by the veteran third baseman, whose barrel percentage and average exit velocity are higher than they were in 2015, when he was named American League MVP.

“You can tell Josh has been hitting the ball hard,” Freeman said. “He’s been having good at-bats and walking a lot. You just knew sooner rather than later he was going to get a big hit. That was a big hit for us right there.”

While Riley’s authoritative arrival has garnered most of the attention over the past few weeks, Freeman has produced a similar power barrage, homering in eight of his past 71 at-bats. The veteran first baseman hit his 15th home run of the season with a two-run shot in the ninth and produced a historic double ahead of Donaldson’s eighth-inning homer.

Freeman’s double was the 300th of his career, joining Aaron, Jones, Andrew Jones, Eddie Mathews and Dale Murphy as the only players in Braves history to hit 300 doubles and 200 home runs.

“It’s pretty cool, it really is,” Freeman said. “I’m not one to talk about this kind of stuff. It’s making me uneasy. But today was pretty cool. Usually, I do something like this and we always lose. It’s nice to finally get a win when something cool like this happens.”

Freeman’s double was the 300th of his career, joining Aaron, Jones, Andrew Jones, Eddie Mathews and Dale Murphy as the only players in Braves history to hit 300 doubles and 200 home runs.

“It’s pretty cool, it really is,” Freeman said. “I’m not one to talk about this kind of stuff. It’s making me uneasy. But today was pretty cool. Usually, I do something like this and we always lose. It’s nice to finally get a win when something cool like this happens.”