After seeing so much of the Cubs lately, it’s nice to be on the other end of a game in which one team could do no right and the other easily loped to victory. The Braves kicked the ball around in the first inning, and the Pirates scored three times because of it. Jon Niese’s home run problems continued when he gave up a two-run shot to Jeff Francouer in the sixth inning, but he was otherwise excellent across his six, getting ten groundouts and striking out six. The final score only looked close because Cory Luebke’s return from the disabled list looked a lot like his his work before he was shelved.
It’s easy enough to brush off games against the awful Braves, but wins are wins and the Pirates need to put some games in the W column after all those losses to the Cubs. All the Pirates can do right now is take care of their own business and see how things shape up in the next month. It’s one game, but this was a nice start down that path.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
