PITTSBURGH – Alex Wood pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning to win for the first time in five starts, and the Atlanta Braves edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Sunday.
Jace Peterson hit his third homer for the Braves as they ended a season-high, five-game losing streak. Chris Johnson added two hits and Nick Markakis drove in a run.
Wood (5-5) scattered five hits and struck out eight without a walk in 7 1-3 innings. Jason Grilli gave up a run in the ninth but earned his 21st save.
Atlanta didn’t do much against Pittsburgh starter Jeff Locke (4-4), managing only an RBI single by Markakis in the fifth. Peterson homered off reliever Vance Worley in the seventh to give the Braves a little breathing room.
Pirates star Andrew McCutchen went 1 for 4 after getting hit on the left elbow Saturday by a pitch from Julio Teheran. McCutchen wore a large brace to protect the elbow.
Grilli, an All-Star closer for the Pirates in 2013 who took the loss in a 10-inning defeat on Friday, made Wood’s hard work hold up but not without some excitement.
Francisco Cervelli walked with two outs and Jordy Mercer hit an RBI double for his third hit. Atlanta center fielder Cameron Maybin and left fielder Eury Perez collided when Maybin tried to make the catch at the wall in left-center. Perez stayed down for several moments but walked off the field without assistance.
Grilli struck out pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco to end it.
McCutchen appeared just fine less than 24 hours after the first inning of Saturday’s game when Teheran’s 92 mph fastball smacked him in the elbow, the eighth time this season and the 48th time in his career he’s been hit. The 2013 NL MVP joked he might need to “drop kick” an opposing pitcher to stop getting buzzed. He was diagnosed with a bone bruise and texted manager Clint Hurdle on Sunday morning saying he was good to go.
McCutchen has never been a fan of the armor worn at the plate by some of his contemporaries because he was worried it would limit his effectiveness. Still, he donned a sizable black pad to shield the elbow Sunday.
Wood did hit Jung Ho Kang with a pitch in the first inning but never came close to McCutchen. The Pirates spent most of Wood’s outing rarely coming close to his eclectic mix.
The 24-year-old lefty came in having dropped his last three decisions but had little trouble keeping the Pirates in check, working efficiently through a Pittsburgh lineup that was only too happy to swing.
Wood’s only real spot of trouble came in the seventh when McCutchen and Starling Marte hit back-to-back singles. A sacrifice bunt by Cervelli put runners at second and third with one out, but Mercer struck out and Sean Rodriguez popped to second to end the threat.