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Snell strong; bats break out for Pirates

May 13, 2007 - 11:46 PM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Ian Snell showed the Atlanta Braves a thing or two about quality pitching.

Snell struck out seven batters in seven innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a 13-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday to avoid the sweep of a three-game series.

While Pittsburgh picked up just its third win in nine games by posting a season high in runs, Atlanta saw the end of a season-high five-game winning streak that vaulted it into first place in the National League East.

Atlanta was able to achieve that streak behind some stellar pitching from its rotation, as all five starters went at least six innings and yielded two runs.

According to manager Bobby Cox, the Braves did not get that same type of pitching effort on Sunday.

"It wasn't a good ballgame," he said. "We just didn't throw as good a game today. We didn't throw enough strikes."

One of a handful of promising young starters for the Pirates, Snell (3-2) was the star of the mound Sunday, allowing two runs and seven hits en route to picking up his first win in three starts. He also walked two.

"It felt good," Snell said. "We've been on a losing streak, and I just wanted to end that and get our team back on track."

Bouncing back from consecutive outings against the Chicago Cubs where he gave up seven runs and 14 hits in 12 innings, Snell returned to his impressive early-season form.

The 25-year-old righthander began the season allowing two runs or less in his first five starts en route to posting a 1.59 ERA in 34 frames. With his latest outing, Snell dropped his ERA to 2.38.

"He pitched really well," said Atlanta first baseman Scott Thorman, who finished 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. "He looked like he was in control. ... He's going to be a good one for the Pirates to have for a while."

Snell did run into some trouble in the second, giving up a two-out single to rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia to put runners on the corners. The righthander got out of it when Pete Orr lined out to center field.

"(Snell) is a guy, when things get awry, he can stop it and get things going in the right direction again," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "He showed it again today with seven great innings."

In the fifth, Snell surrendered an RBI single to Kelly Johnson and a run-scoring double to Willie Harris, it hardly mattered as the Pittsburgh lineup broke out in a big way.

Behind three hits and three RBI from Freddy Sanchez, the reigning National League batting champion, the Pirates also a season-high with 18 hits.

"We scored those runs and it just felt good to see I had a five-spot (through five innings), and I could deal with that and work with that," Snell said.

Prior to Sunday, Pittsburgh needed its last five games to manage 13 runs. The previous single-game best was in a 7-5 victory at the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 22.

"It was good for us to come out here and get some hits as a team," said Sanchez, who entered the game hitting .250. "Everyone stepped up today and did their job. It's huge for us to have a game like this. I think hitting's contagious, and we did a good job hitting with runners in scoring position today."

Another key contributor to the offensive breakout for the Pirates was leadoff hitter Chris Duffy, who finished three hits, three runs scored and two RBI.

Sent to the minor leagues last May after hitting just .194 in 31 games before being recalled later in the season, Duffy set the tone early on Sunday, manufacturing Pittsburgh's first run.

Duffy drew a leadoff walk against Braves rookie starter Anthony Lerew (0-1), stole second base and tagged up on a fly ball to move to third before scoring on Sanchez's infield hit.

"That was a good way to score a run," Tracy said. "When we had a very successful second half last year, one of the guys who spearheaded that was that leadoff guy getting on base and making things happen and that hasn't been happening a whole lot here as of late."

Sanchez also had RBI singles in the fourth and the sixth and Duffy doubled home a run in the seventh for a 9-2 lead. He also had a run-scoring base hit in the eighth.

The Pirates did lose third baseman Jose Bautista in the sixth inning when he turned his left ankle getting tagged out on a play at the plate. X-rays were negative and he is listed as day-to-day.

Making his second career start, Lerew finished with five runs and seven hits allowed in 3 2/3 innings in his second career start.

"I couldn't find my rhythm," Lerew said. "I didn't feel too bad out there. (But) I couldn't locate like I did last game, and I think I put a lot of pressure on myself.

A native of nearby Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Lerew had about three dozen friends and family on hand.

Willie Harris finished with two hits for the Braves, who were limited to two runs or less for the first time since a 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday.