The Pittsburgh Pirates got a good pitching performance by Zach Duke as they beat the Houston Astros 5-2 on Wednesday night.  With the win the Pirates tied the series at 1-1 with the rubber match being Thursday night.

Duke tossed 7 2/3 innings while giving up seven hits and two runs.  Ty Wigginton took him deep for a solo home run in the first and then Carlos Lee had a rbi single in the sixth inning.  Duke will take that kind of quality start every time he takes the mound.  With the win he is now 2-5 on the season.

Damaso Marte recorded the last out in the eighth inning after Duke left the game and then the closer Matt Capps came in to get his 12th save of the season.

Raul Chavez had a two run single in the fourth inning and then a sacrafice fly in the eighth inning to lead the Pirates with three rbi in the game.  Adam LaRoche had a rbi single in the fourth inning while Nate McLouth had a rbi single in the fifth inning.

The Pirates will try to win the series as they battle the Astros on Thursday night.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were out hit by the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night, but on the part on the scoreboard that mattered the Pirates were ahead 8-4 at the end of the game.  Nice win for the Pirates as they avoided the three game sweep.

Jason Bay hit a two run home run and Xavier Nady had a solo home run to lead the Pirates at the plate.  Bay and Chris Gomez both had two rbi in the game to lead the team.  Nady, Raul Chavez, and Tom Gorzelanny all had a rbi in the game.

Gorzelanny ended up getting the win and improving to 4-4 on the season.  He tossed five innings and allowed eight hits but only two runs.  Damaso Marte and John Grabow both gave up one run in relief.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates scored four runs in the eighth inning and then three more in the ninth inning as they came back to beat the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 11-5.  Wow what a come back for the Pirates against the Cardinals.  That is a great way to end a game as they head to Chicago for a weekend series.

Jason Bay had a big three run home run in the eighth inning to spark the Pirates rally.  Nate McLouth also had a home run in the in the first inning that got the Pirates on the scoreboard.  Bay led the Pirates with three rbi while Freddy Sanchez and Jason Michaels both had two rbi.  Chris Gomez, Raul Chavez, and McLouth all had one rbi in the game.

Pirates starting pitcher Ian Snell only lasted four innings as he gave up eleven hits and five runs.  He got lucky to get off the hook as the Pirates came back to win the game.  John Grabow ended up getting the win as he pitched in relief.  Grabow is now 3-1 on the season.

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