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Rodriguez, Pirates down Braves

Apr 20, 2013 - 4:16 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Wandy Rodriguez tossed seven spectacular innings and Pedro Alvarez hit a two-run homer, as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-0, in the second test of a four-game series.

Garrett Jones knocked in two runs for the Pirates, who bounced back from a 6-4 loss in the series opener on Thursday. Jose Tabata had an RBI and a run scored.

Rodriguez (2-0) gave up just one hit and struck out five for Pittsburgh. Mark Melancon and Vin Mazzaro each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

"Wandy was very aggressive and very good with the first-pitch strike. He worked ahead and minimized deep counts against a very good hitting team. It was just what we needed," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.

Atlanta starter Tim Hudson (2-1), who was trying for his 200th career victory, gave up six runs on nine hits over four-plus innings.

"He was getting flyballs, his pitches aren't sinking," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez "He left some balls over the plate, but we didn't do anything offensively to help him out."

The Pirates scored all the runs they would need in the second inning. Neil Walker led off with a triple to left past a diving Justin Upton. Alvarez followed with a massive blast to right that left the yard. Russell Martin then doubled off the wall in right and raced home on Tabata's double to right, making it 3-0.

Pittsburgh tacked on three more runs in the fifth. Tabata walked, Travis Snider singled and Andrew McCutchen walked to load the bases with no outs. Jones followed with a two-run single to left. Anthony Varvaro took over on the mound and filled the bags with two outs. John McDonald went down swinging but reached first on Varvaro's wild pitch, which allowed McCutchen to score.

Atlanta was limited to just two hits for the game -- Jason Heyward's single in the fourth and Andrelton Simmons' infield single in the ninth. Rodriguez retired the final 10 batters he faced.

Game Notes

Rodriguez improved to 4-3 in 13 lifetime outings against the Braves ... Hudson fell to 6-6 in 13 career starts against the Pirates ... Snider went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to seven games ... Braves outfielder B.J. Upton was ejected by home plate umpire Sam Holbrook after a called third strike call in the seventh inning.