Atlanta Braves second baseman, Dan Uggla, left, gets the top have of a double play, putting out Pittsburgh Pirate Russell Martin, right, in the fourth inning in a baseball game at PNC Park Friday, April 19, 2013 in Pittsburgh.PITTSBURGH – Wandy Rodriguez pitched so well, he made his manager almost consider giving him 10 days rest between all his starts.
Rodriguez faced the minimum while throwing seven innings of 1-hit ball to and help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves 6-0 on Friday.
Scratched from his most recent scheduled start after leaving his previous outing in the third inning because of a strained hamstring, Rodriguez (2-0) allowed only Jason Heyward’s one-out single in the fourth. Justin Upton followed by grounding into a double play.
Rodriguez struck out five without a walk against a Braves lineup that leads the majors in home runs.
“When you see a guy twirling like he did today, there’s not any team that’s going to put up much against him,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “It wasn’t just the strikes but the location of the strikes. It was like he was throwing darts.