JOHN AMIS / Associated Press
Andy LaRoche delivers a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning. He said he "was happy to get a decent pitch to hit."
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NL Roundup
Bucs' LaRoche chops down Braves
ATLANTA - Andy LaRoche hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves yesterday and a split of the four-game series.
LaRoche said he was just trying to make contact when he leaned forward to slap a 3-2 pitch from Rafael Soriano (1-1) for the tie-breaking hit.
"I'd already said to myself in the dugout 'Stay short, up the middle,' " LaRoche said. "I was happy to get a decent pitch to hit and hit it up the middle."
Steven Jackson (2-1) pitched a scoreless eighth to get the victory.
Atlanta's Javier Vazquez gave up only two hits and a run in eight innings. He matched his season high of 12 strikeouts and took over the league lead with 105.
Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm yielded four hits and one unearned run in seven innings. He set a season high with eight strikeouts and walked three in his sixth no-decision in his last eight starts.
An error helped the Braves take a 1-0 lead in the fourth. With two outs, shortstop Jack Wilson couldn't field a grounder by Matt Diaz. Diaz stole second and scored on Jeff Francoeur's single.
The Pirates pulled even in the fifth on Delwyn Young's first homer of the season.
Pittsburgh 000 010 002 – 3 5 1
Atlanta 000 100 000 – 1 5 1
Pittsburgh AB R H BI Avg. Atlanta AB R H BI Avg.
McCutchen cf 4 1 1 0 .316 McLouth cf 3 0 0 0 .255
Morgan lf 3 0 0 0 .266 Y.Escobar ss 4 0 0 0 .296
F.Sanchez 2b 4 0 0 0 .309 C.Jones 3b 4 0 0 0 .320
Ad.LaRoche 1b 3 1 0 0 .240 Canizares 1b 4 0 1 0 .250
An.LaRoche 3b 3 0 2 2 .298 M.Diaz lf 4 1 1 0 .275
Delw.Young rf 4 1 2 1 .333 Francoeur rf 3 0 2 1 .245
R.Diaz c 4 0 0 0 .290 D.Ross c 2 0 0 0 .275
Ja.Wilson ss 3 0 0 0 .253 b-G.Blanco ph 1 0 0 0 .000
