ATLANTA (Reuters) – Andrew McCutchen‘s two-run home run in the ninth inning secured a 5-2 win for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Thursday.

The win moves the surprising Pirates into a second place tie with the St. Louis Cardinals, 1- games behind the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

Following a 47-minute rain delay, McCutchen’s RBI double in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie and Pedro Alvarez also drove in a run to stretch the Pirates’ lead to 3-1.

“I changed something simple,” said McCutchen, who had struggled with an average of .156 since the All-Star break.

“The thing about me is, when I am not feeling too well, if it feels like something is off, I can always figure it out pretty quick just by looking at film.

“It is nothing really difficult, so we looked at some video and said ‘all right, make that adjustment,’ and I was able to do it and I had a pretty good game.”

The Braves narrowed the Pirates’ lead to 3-2 in the sixth inning on a throwing error by Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno.

Cedeno’s throw to first base on a ground ball sailed wide allowing Freddie Freeman, who doubled to lead-off the inning, to score from second base.

Both teams squandered opportunities as the Braves hit into four double plays and the Pirates stranded 10 runners on base, including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh inning.

“Even early on tonight we didn’t get a guy in from third with less than two outs,” Braves catcher David Ross said. “Like I said yesterday, we’ve got to do that stuff now.”

Pirates starter Kevin Correia won his 12th game of the season allowing two runs on nine hits while striking out three in 6-1/3 innings. Joel Hanrahan secured the final four outs for Pittsburgh for his 30th save of the season

(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario; Editing by Ossian Shine/Ian Ransom)

DENVER — The Atlanta Braves are in hot pursuit of first place in the National League East and will head to the Rocky Mountains to take on Colorado, starting with Monday night’s opener of a four-game series at Coors Field.

The Braves are 3 1/2 games behind Philadelphia for the NL East lead and took two of three meetings versus Washington over the weekend at Turner Field. They held on for an 8-7 win on Sunday thanks to a game-winning RBI single from Freddie Freeman. Brian McCann belted a three-run homer during a five-run fifth inning and Nate McLouth added a solo shot in a winning effort. Dan Uggla extended his season-high hitting streak to nine games with a 1-for-3 effort.

Jair Jurrjens started for Atlanta and did not record a decision after he yielded a season-high six runs and eight hits over five innings. Rookie and All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel was the winner with a scoreless ninth.

“It seemed like it was the offense’s day,” said Jurrjens.

Atlanta will also visit Cincinnati for three games on this road trip and has won 17 of its last 23 games.

The Braves hope Derek Lowe can turn things around when he takes the mound Monday night. Since starting the season 3-3 with a 3.22 earned run average in his first eight starts, Lowe is 2-4 with a 5.00 ERA in his last 12.

Lowe did not survive a 14-1 loss at Philadelphia on July 10, as he was reached for four runs and 10 hits in six innings. He was coming off back-to-back wins and is now 5-7 in 20 starts with a 4.30 ERA. Lowe, who is 3-6 in 12 road outings this season, defeated Colorado on July 5 in a 5-3 triumph at Turner Field. He allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

The right-hander has made 21 career starts against the Rockies, going 10-8 with a 4.40 ERA over 122 2/3 innings in that span.

Colorado just split a four-game home set with Milwaukee and lost the last two installments, including Sunday’s 4-3 setback. Jason Giambi homered and both Seth Smith and Ty Wigginton ended with two hits and an RBI for Colorado, which had won two straight and four of five games before its two-game slide.

“We’re in every game,” Giambi said after Colorado’s eighth loss in 12 tries. “I mean we’re not getting blown out, just unfortunately, we’re not getting that big hit or that big pitch to give us the win or at least tie the game.”

Rockies starter Aaron Cook remained winless (0-5) on the season after allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks over 4 2/3 innings.

Jason Hammel is set to make his 19th start of the season Monday night for Colorado and has won just two of his previous nine decisions. Hammel was 0-2 in three starts before topping Washington on the road July 8 with 6 1/3 innings of two- run ball. He pushed his 2011 record to 5-8 in 18 starts and lowered his ERA to 4.23.

The right-hander and former Tampa Bay draft pick is only 3-6 in 10 home starts this season and will be appearing in his fifth career start against Atlanta. Hammel is 0-2 with a lofty 9.53 ERA in the first four starts in this series.

Atlanta swept a four-game series versus Colorado from July 4-7, but the Rockies have won four in a row in this series as the host.

 

(The Sports Network)

Raul Ibanez made sure the Philadelphia Phillies would be in first place at the All-Star Game.

Ibanez’s solo home run to right on a 2-0 pitch from Scott Proctor in the 10th inning lifted the Phillies past the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in front of 45,403 fans at Citizens Bank Park.

The win moved the Phillies (56-33) 3 1/2 games ahead of the Braves (53-37) in the National League East and assures that no matter what happens in the rest of the three-game set with Atlanta the Phils will enter the All-Star break in first place.

The Phils got tremendous bullpen pitching again with Michael Stutes, Antonio Bastardo and Juan Perez (1-0) each tossing a scoreless inning. Perez earned his first win of the season by striking out the side in the top of the 10th. Roy Halladay tossed seven strong innings but did not factor in the decision.

Carlos Ruiz’s solo homer in the fifth tied the game at 2 after Atlanta had taken the lead on Dan Uggla’s RBI single in the top of the inning.

The Braves’ loss was just their fourth in their last 18 games.

The series will continue Saturday afternoon (4:10) with Cliff Lee (9-6) for the Phils against Tommy Hanson (10-4) for the Braves.

That was enough against the Marlins, who stranded 10 and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position. In the first five games of their homestand, they’ve left 49 men on base while batting .152 with runners in scoring position.

Hanson (7-4) allowed five walks but only two hits. He has shut out Florida in 13 innings over two starts this season.

The Braves moved ahead of Florida into sole possession of second place in the National League East.

Martin Prado gave the Braves a scare when he was struck in the left knee by a throw to second base on a two-out steal in the ninth inning. A trainer and manager Gonzalez went to check on him, but Prado insisted on staying in the game.

It was another night when pitching carried the Braves, save for the Gonzalez homer – their only hit in six innings against Hand, a 21-year-old lefthander who had not pitched a game above double-A before Tuesday.

Hand had one walk and six strikeouts in his big-league debut against a Braves team that has scored three runs or fewer in 12 of its last 20.

Counterpart Hanson had an unusual pitching line, allowing two hits and five walks with six strikeouts in six scoreless innings. He walked the bases loaded in the sixth before power-hitting Mike Stanton grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

Braves 1, Marlins 0

Atlanta 000 100 000 – 1 2 0

Florida 000 000 000 – 0 4 1

Atlanta AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Schafer cf 3   0   0   0   1   0   .190   

Ale.Gonzalez ss 4   1   1   1   0   2   .263   

Prado lf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .277   

C.Jones 3b 4   0   0   0   0   1   .251   

Freeman 1b 3   0   0   0   0   1   .273   

Uggla 2b 3   0   0   0   0   1   .170   

D.Ross c 2   0   0   0   1   1   .293   

Mather rf 3   0   0   0   0   1   .259   

Hanson p 2   0   0   0   0   1   .095   

O’Flaherty p 0   0   0   0   0   0   —   

b-Hinske ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .296   

Venters p 0   0   0   0   0   0   —   

(Sports Network) – R.A. Dickey tries to pitch the New York Mets to a series
win over the Atlanta Braves this evening when the National League East
combatants play the rubber match of a three-game series at Citi Field.

Jose Reyes’ eighth inning error proved costly in the Mets’ Friday night loss,
but the talented shortstop atoned for his mistake on Saturday, as his three-
run triple highlighted a five-run seventh inning and helped lead New York to a
5-0 win.

Dillon Gee (6-0) scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings to get the
win, while Justin Turner and Jason Pridie each drove in a run in the pivotal
frame for the Mets, who have won two of their last three.

“I think the confidence factor is pretty high right now, just knowing that the
guys keep picking me up each time I go out there,” said Gee. “You have to give
credit to the guys that play defense behind me.”

Jair Jurrjens (7-2), the NL’s Pitcher of the Month for May, got the loss as he
was charged with four runs — three earned — on six hits with six strikeouts
over 6 1/3 innings for the Braves, who had a two-game winning streak stopped.

Tonight, New York will turn. Dickey, who is a miserable 2-6 on the season with
a 4.39 ERA. Dickey was brilliant in not giving up a run over the first seven
innings of his last start on Tuesday against Pittsburgh, but the wheels came
off in the eighth, as he allowed three runs and was saddled with the loss. The
knuckle-balling right-hander did strike out a season-high 10 batters in the 7
2/3-ining effort.

“Anytime that you know you’re capable of better, it hurts,” Dickey said. “And
it’s tough. But that’s the nature of the beast.”

Dickey is 0-2 in six games (three starts) against the Braves with a 5.56 ERA.
He actually threw a scoreless inning of relief against them earlier in the
year.

Getting the call for the Braves tonight will be right-hander Tim Hudson, who
is 4-4 on the year, but 0-2 over his last four starts. Hudson did not get a
decision on Monday against San Diego, despite allowing just one earned run
over six innings to lower his ERA to 3.75.

Hudson has faced the Mets 20 times and is 13-6 against them with a 3.41 ERA.

Atlanta took two of three from the Mets earlier in the year.

The Sports Network

NEW YORK — In a season full of key injuries and negative financial news, the New York Mets have found a bright spot: Dillon Gee.

The unheralded rookie is pitching like an ace.

Gee outdueled Jair Jurrjens to remain unbeaten this season and Jose Reyes hit a bases-loaded triple, leading New York past the Atlanta Braves 5-0 on Saturday night.

“I was really impressed because it was a game that we needed some zeros,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He’s proved that he can pitch at this level and have success. All he does is give you quality outings.”

Pinch-hitter Jason Pridie snapped a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh and the Mets took advantage of an error by shortstop Alex Gonzalez to score five times in the inning.

New York’s struggling bullpen finally preserved a lead, too, with Pedro Beato and Tim Byrdak combining for two perfect innings to close it out.

“Better than the last few I watched,” Collins said.

The Mets set an unwanted major league record Friday night: Their last six home losses have all come in games in which they led in the seventh inning. The bullpen had a 10.57 ERA over the previous 12 games.

Gee (6-0) won his fourth straight start, needing only 85 pitches to get through seven innings before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Showing smarts and poise again, he allowed four hits and walked two while finishing with a pair of strikeouts.

“He was definitely on top of his game. He was basically doing anything he wanted tonight,” Braves slugger Chipper Jones said. “Fastball in and out. Changeup, bottom dropping out of the changeup. Cutter, which is something we were seeing for the first time. Just really, really kept us off balance.”

Indeed, Gee said he fiddled with a cutter while warming up in the bullpen and used it in a game for the first time. He threw five of them and got three outs with that pitch.

Gee became the first rookie in club history to win his first six decisions in a season as a starter. Jon Matlack, the 1972 NL Rookie of the Year, opened 6-0 with one win out of the bullpen.

“I think the confidence factor is really good right now,” Gee said. “I’m glad to be helping the team. I don’t read too much into it. I’m pitching to contact, changing speeds.”

The right-hander had to be sharp in his matchup with Jurrjens, the National League pitcher of the month for May. The two of them came in with the top winning percentages in the league.

New York has won all eight of Gee’s starts this season, making him the only pitcher who has made at least five starts without his team losing any of them.

“He’s good. He’s moving the ball in and out, up. He changed speeds,” Jurrjens said. “Everybody’s really about throwing hard these days, but what Gee did today, that’s pitching.”

Jurrjens (7-2) was cruising along until his defense let him down in the seventh.

With one out, slumping Jason Bay hit a grounder to Gonzalez and the normally sure-handed shortstop fumbled it as he tried to make the transfer from his glove to his throwing hand.

It was Gonzalez’s fourth error of the season.

“We blinked today. You can’t get mad at Gonzo because he’s saved our butts for a lot of games,” Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said.

Josh Thole followed with a double to right and Jurrjens grazed Ruben Tejada’s uniform top with a pitch, loading the bases. Pridie punched a broken-bat single to right to put New York ahead 1-0.

Scott Proctor came on and Reyes ripped an 0-1 pitch into the right-field corner for his major league-leading 10th triple, prompting Citi Field fans to chant his name.

One night earlier, Reyes made a crucial error that allowed Atlanta to tie the game in the eighth inning of a 6-3 victory. A few innings before that, about 800 fans met on a pedestrian bridge beyond the right-center wall to cheer Reyes and urge Mets management to keep the All-Star shortstop, who can become a free agent after the season.

“He’s an amazing player,” Pridie said. “We’ve had a tough little run in this homestand, so it was great to tack on a few runs.”

Justin Turner added a sacrifice fly, making it 5-0.

The Braves dropped to 13-7 at Citi Field and failed again in their third attempt to move a season-high seven games over .500.

New York improved to 4-5 on its 10-game homestand.

Jurrjens allowed four runs — three earned — and six hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out six and walked none. His major league-best ERA rose from 1.51 to 1.75.

“He was pitching really well and I just wanted to keep us right there,” Gee said.

In his first nine starts this season, Jurrjens had gone at least six innings and not allowed more than two earned runs. The Braves said the only other pitchers in major league history to do that were Ubaldo Jimenez, who went 12 games last year, Randy Johnson (2000) and Lefty Gomez (1937), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.