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09/07/10 09:25:00
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09/07 21:21 CDT Last-place Pirates beat Braves again, 5-0
Last-place Pirates beat Braves again, 5-0
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- James McDonald pitched seven innings, Ronny Cedeno's triple
keyed a five-run seventh and the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates beat the
slumping Atlanta Braves for the second straight day, winning 5-0 on Tuesday
night.
The Braves fell into a first-place tie with Philadelphia in the NL East after
being in sole possession of the division lead every day since May 31. The
Phillies played Florida on Tuesday night.
It's easy to find a culprit for the Braves' slide - they have scored only 12
runs while losing five of six, a slump that followed a five-game winning
streak. The Pirates had lost seven of nine and were on pace to lose 109 games
before winning the first two games of the three-game series.
Tim Hudson (15-7), losing his second straight after winning six in a row, held
the Pirates to three hits over six shutout innings, but he retired only one
batter during the Pirates' breakthrough seventh inning. He was charged with
four runs after pitching 28 consecutive innings against Pittsburgh without
allowing an earned run.
Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez doubled in succession with one out for the
game's first run. After Ryan Doumit was intentionally walked, Cedeno tripled
off the right-field wall to make it 3-0.
Hudson left one batter later, and reliever Eric O'Flaherty gave up pinch-hitter
Delwyn Young's two-run homer into the left-field bleachers. Young's seventh
homer was the Pirates' first by a pinch-hitter in 29 at-bats.
McDonald, the former Dodgers prospect, made the most effective of his seven
starts with Pittsburgh and his first against Atlanta, limiting the Braves to
five hits.
Joel Hanrahan closed it out in the ninth - following a 43-minute rain delay -
for his second save in as many days, and his fifth in eight opportunities. Evan
Meek pitched a scoreless eighth as the three pitchers combined for Pittsburgh's
sixth shutout. Atlanta has been shut out 10 times.
The Braves twice looked like they might break through against McDonald, who
gave up 14 earned runs in 16 1-3 innings while losing his last three starts.
They put two on with two outs in the fifth, but McDonald got Hudson to pop up.
An inning later, the Braves loaded the bases when Jason Heyward walked, Martin
Prado doubled for only his second hit in 20 at-bats in PNC Park this season and
Brian McCann was intentionally walked, but Derrek Lee grounded into a double
play.
Lee, acquired from the Cubs to give the Braves a much-needed power bat down the
stretch, has yet to homer and is batting .228 (13 for 57) in 17 games with
Atlanta. Lee was hitless in four at-bats.
NOTES: Braves RHP Derek Lowe, who starts Wednesday, is 9-0 against the Pirates
_ the top unbeaten record by a current major league pitcher against any
opponent. ... LHP Brian Burres will remain in Pittsburgh's rotation after
limiting the Braves to one run in six innings on Monday. ... After calling up
eight players from Triple-A Indianapolis, the Pirates have 35 on their active
roster. ... The Braves' Bobby Cox is the last NL manager or player to remain
continuously with his club since the Pirates last had a winning season in 1992.
Cox's Braves beat Pittsburgh in the 1991 and 1992 NLCS. ... Pirates rookie Neil
Walker doubled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games (24 for
61, .393).
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