The Pirates Hand Delgado and Braves 4-2 Loss

The Braves winning streak ended at three games tonight at the hands of the Pirates and Erik Bedard. Randall Delgado got the loss tonight as the Braves went down 4-2 to the Bucs. The Pirates and the Braves both worked long at-bats and forced both starters out of the game before the sixth inning. Bedard's five innings were more effective than Delgado's though, who threw 98 pitches in four innings and a third, giving up eight hits, three walks, and four hits. Bedard still hasn't given up more than two earned runs in any game this year but was able to notch his first win of 2012

The Pirates wasted no time in getting on the board tonight and Alex Presley wasted no time in extending his hitting streak to twelve games. He grounded up the middle to lead off the game and moved to third on a groundout and a past ball. A Garrett Jones sac fly brought him home and gave the Pirates an early 1-0 advantage. Some shaky defense cost the Braves even more runs in the second inning. Tyler Pastornicky wasn't able to snag a Barajas liner that he might should have been able to grab. He was ultimately driven in by an Alex Presley double down the left field line. Presley came home from second following a Tabata liner to Heyward. Jason's throw was right on the money to David Ross and beat Presley to the plate, but Ross wasn't able to handle the bounce and the Pirates extended their lead to 3-0.

The Braves struck for the first time in the bottom of the third, when Dan Uggla stroked a ball into center to drive Martin in from from second. The Pirates tacked on yet another in the fifth though when Neil Walker came home on a Pedro Alvarez lined double over the head of Jason Heyward. The Braves could only muster one more run manufactured by Jason Heyward's eighth stolen base on the season. If you haven't noticed, he's running a lot, and has been pretty darn successful. Francisco drove him in on a groundout to edge the Braves closer to 4-2, but that's where the game ended despite stellar relief from Livan Hernandez and Cristhian Martinez.