ATLANTA (AP) -- After winning his first two starts,
Randall Delgado has hit a tough stretch for the Atlanta
Braves.
Delgado gave up four runs before leaving in
the fifth inning and the Braves lost to Erik Bedard and the Pittsburgh
Pirates 4-2 on Saturday night.
Delgado (2-2) gave up
eight hits and three walks in 4 1-3 innings, leaving his ERA at 6.30. He
has allowed a combined nine runs in his last two games, both losses,
after the encouraging start to his second season.
The
problem?
"Location," Delgado said. "Fastball
command. My change-up, too.
"I was trying to keep the
ball down but I was a little bit off the plate. I was leaving the ball a
little bit up."
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said he is
trying to remain patient with Delgado, only
22.
"We're trying to keep running him out there,
trying to get him through some stuff," Gonzalez said. "He just couldn't
get it going today. Couldn't get his breaking pitches
over.
"The little that I know him from last year and
this year, he's going to be OK. He's going to use these last two outings
as experience and keep going forward."
Delgado was
1-1 with a 2.83 ERA in his seven starts in his debut last
season.
Alex Presley had two hits to extend his
career-best hitting streak to 12 games for Pittsburgh. He scored two
runs and drove in a run with a double. Pedro Alvarez also had a
run-scoring double.
Bedard (1-4) gave up only one run
in five innings. The left-hander struck out nine while giving up five
hits and two walks. He has not allowed more than two earned runs in any
of his five starts.
"Bedard kept us off balance,"
said Braves shortstop Tyler Pastornicky. "He mixed his pitches up well
and hit all his spots."
Jason Grilli struck out the
side in the eighth and Joel Hanrahan added two strikeouts in a perfect
ninth for his fourth save. The game ended when right fielder Jose Tabata
made a leaping catch at the wall of pinch-hitter Eric Hinske's
drive.
The Pirates scored a total of two runs with
Bedard on the mound in his first four starts -- the majors' lowest run
support for a pitcher. They topped that by taking a 3-0 lead in the
first two innings.
"It feels good," Bedard said after
his first win with the Pirates. "When you can get up early, it helped
out.
"Hopefully it keeps
coming."
Presley led off the game with a single and
scored from third on Garrett Jones' flyball to center field. Presley's
second-inning double into the left field corner drove in Rod Barajas,
who singled. Tabata's single to right drove in Presley for a 3-0
lead.
Martin Prado doubled in the third inning and
scored on Dan Uggla's two-out single for the Braves' first
run.
The Pirates knocked Delgado out of the game in
the fifth with back-to-back doubles by Neil Walker and Alvarez, pushing
the lead to 4-1.
Bedard struck out Freddie Freeman
and Uggla with runners on second and third to end the
fifth.
The Braves scored a run off Chris Resop in the
sixth when Jason Heyward doubled, stole third and scored on Juan
Francisco's grounder to first. Heyward has eight
steals.
After Pastornicky singled and advanced to
third when the ball skipped past Tabata for an error, pinch-hitter
Chipper Jones ended the inning with a grounder to second
base.
Braves catcher Brian McCann, who left Friday
night's game with a strained muscle in his right side, did not play. He
said he felt better Saturday and hopes to play on Monday. Outfielder
Matt Diaz was to be the emergency backup catcher to fill-in starter
David Ross.
NOTES: Jones appeared
in his 2,400th major league game, second on the Braves franchise list
behind Hank Aaron (3,076). ... Bedard's 0.75 average run support per
game before Saturday was the lowest in the major leagues. ... In a
pregame ceremony, McCann (Silver Slugger award) and RHP Craig Kimbrel
(NL Rookie of the Year and Braves player of the year by the Atlanta
chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America) received 2011
awards. ... Braves RHP Tim Hudson will make his season debut on Sunday
as he faces the Pirates' RHP Kevin Correia. Hudson is returning from
offseason back surgery after making four rehab starts. "Better late than
never," Hudson said Saturday. He was 16-10 with a 3.22 ERA in 2011.
