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It takes a performance approaching perfection for a team like the Pirates to put down a contender, but that is precisely what they found in thoroughly outplaying the Atlanta Braves, 5-0, Tuesday night at PNC Park.
They needed to get good starting pitching, and found seven scoreless innings from James McDonald.
They needed to make all the plays, and found gems from Jose Tabata and Pedro Alvarez.
Mostly in this one, they needed to find a way to muster something, anything off Atlanta ace Tim Hudson, who looked every bit his 15-6 record and 2.30 ERA in opening with four perfect innings. But they did that, too, breaking through for all five runs in the seventh, highlighted by Ronny Cedeno's two-run triple and Delwyn Young's two-run home run.
"A great team win," manager John Russell said, sounding much as he did after beating the Braves, 3-1, the previous day. "These have been two really good games for us, and it seems like everybody's contributed."
That probably was a requirement, given not only Atlanta's status among the National League's elite but also the Braves' urgency: The Philadelphia Phillies leapfrogged them on this night for first place in the East Division.
Game: Pirates vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: LHP Zach Duke (7-12, 5.24) vs. RHP Derek Lowe (11-12, 4.53).
Key matchup: Duke always had trouble with Chipper Jones, out for the year to injury, and he has nearly as much trouble with Jones' replacement, Martin Prado: 9 for 19 with a home run and three doubles.
Of note: Of the 11 pitchers to start for the Pirates this season, not one has a winning record, and only Brian Burres is .500 at 3-3.
That factor, plus Hudson's presence, might well have braced the Pirates.
"With that team, that pitcher, we all knew we had to be ready," Cedeno said. "We couldn't give them anything."
Hudson had held the Pirates to three hits heading into the bottom of the seventh, but the scene changed violently.
After one out, Garrett Jones roped a double off the center-field fence. Alvarez followed with a double off the base of the Clemente Wall, and the game's first run crossed. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox ordered an intentional walk of Ryan Doumit for Hudson to face Cedeno, and Cedeno answered by launching a 1-1 sinker onto the right-center track for the two-run triple.
Upon sliding headfirst into third, Cedeno rose to his knees, looked into the dugout and clapped emphatically.
Hudson was lifted, only the fifth time all season in mid-inning.
"Bobby Cox is a great manager, and I know he made the decision to pitch to me," Cedeno said. "I had to do the job for my team."
The surprises kept coming.
Russell ordered a suicide squeeze with Chris Snyder batting and, when Cox countered with a pitchout, Snyder lunged well outside the zone to foul it off, drawing an ovation from the crowd of 11,070 that was nearly as loud as for some of the hits.
Snyder struck out, and Young was next as pinch-hitter. Cox switched relievers, to left-hander Eric O'Flaherty, to turn Young right-handed, but that, too, backfired: Young crushed an 0-2 fastball several rows into the second deck of bleachers, and it was 5-0.
How good did that feel?
"I didn't feel it," Young replied with a shrug. "Those are the best kind, when you hit it like that and don't feel it. You just hear it."
In all, the inning saw five runs score without a single.
McDonald's seven zeroes were wrapped around five hits and three walks, two intentional. He was not at his most explosive, but he stayed aggressive and efficient -- pitching coach Ray Searage's primary emphasis of late -- to match his longest outing of the season.
"James made the big pitches when he needed to," Russell said. "Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he battles."
McDonald acknowledged motivation in facing Hudson.
"You know you've got to bring it against a guy like that," McDonald said. "He might be the best pitcher in the league right now."
Indeed, Hudson had a 1.70 ERA in his previous nine starts, including three shutouts of opponents with winning records. His line for this one -- four runs, six hits in 6 1/3 innings -- had little in common.
What happened to Hudson?
"Nothing. I just didn't make two pitches," he replied, referring to a cutter to Alvarez and sinker to Cedeno. "It just stinks because I felt we should have won the ball game, but those two pitches cost us. We didn't play good enough to win. They played better than we did tonight."
McDonald had help: Tabata threw from his heels to nail Jason Heyward trying to advance to second on a flyout in the fourth. Alvarez's diving stab in the sixth robbed Omar Infante of extra bases, and Alvarez ended that same inning with a 5-4-3 double play after Derrek Lee had stepped to the plate with bases loaded.
Tabata simply smiled when asked about his play.
Of his own, Alvarez said, "We're all just glad to pick up James."
Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan finished it off, as they had the previous day for Brian Burres.
All that, and Neil Walker extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an eighth-inning double. That is the longest for a Pittsburgh rookie since Johnny Ray's 14 in 1982.
Tonight, the Pirates can win three in a row for the first time since June 30-July 2. They have had only four three-game winning streaks all season, with no streak reaching four.
Colin Dunlap's blog on the Pirates is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
