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Jurrjens stays hot as Braves blank Bucs

May 25, 2011 - 4:26 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Jair Jurrjens continued his stellar start to the season with 7 2/3 scoreless innings, as the Braves edged the Pirates, 2-0, to open a two-game series.

Jurrjens (6-1) yielded six hits and one walk while fanning four en route to lowering his earned-run average to 1.56. He has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his eight starts this year.

"I try to get my team back in the dugout as fast as I can," Jurrjens said. "I just throw strikes and pitch for contact."

Alex Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with a run scored for Atlanta, which had lost four of five coming in.

The Pirates lost their second straight game despite getting another quality start out of Charlie Morton (5-2), who surrendered both runs on seven hits and three walks in seven-plus innings of work.

"I think I pitched OK, but there were some situations I could have pitched better in," Morton admitted.

The Braves scratched out a run apiece in the second and third innings, as Gonzalez trotted home on Brooks Conrad's sacrifice fly to deep right, and Jordan Schafer scored from first on Martin Prado's double in the latter frame.

Atlanta had a potential run nullified in the fifth when a fan reached over the wall in right-center with his hat and interfered with a Chipper Jones fly ball. Jones was awarded a ground-rule double, but Prado, trying to score from first, was sent back to third when it was ruled he could not have scored on the play.

The Braves ultimately didn't need the run, as Jurrjens kept the Pirates off balance throughout. The starter was pulled with one on in the eighth, and Jonny Venters struck out pinch-hitter Matt Diaz to end the inning.

Craig Kimbrel capped the shutout with a 1-2-3 ninth, locking down his 13th save of the year.

Game Notes

This was Jurrjens' 100th career start...Morton, a 2002 draft pick of the Braves, had won his previous three starts. He was coming off a shutout of the Reds last Wednesday...Jose Tabata and Chris Snyder each had two hits for the Pirates.