PIRATES Suppan hurls first shutout, complete game, 9-0



After routing the Rockies, Pittsburgh has won nine of its last 14 games.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Shutouts and complete games once were commonplace for major league pitchers. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, they've become an annual event worth celebrating and remembering.
The Pirates had gone 13 months without a pitcher throwing a shutout and nearly that long without a complete game before right-hander Jeff Suppan did both in beating Colorado 9-0 Sunday.
So much for the relevance of certain statistics that would seem to indicate the likely winner.
Suppan (6-7) had lost seven of eight starts while Rockies starter Shawn Chacon (11-4) had won seven of eight, but those numbers couldn't have been more misleading.
"Obviously, Jeff Suppan pitched a great game for them," said Chacon, who failed to become the majors' first 12-game winner. "It was just a bad day."
Not for the Pirates, who have won nine of 14 heading into a monthlong stretch against NL Central opponents. They've been talking all season about creeping back into the division race, but have yet to do it.
"But I feel good about this team ... we've got that mojo going and I think the players feel good about themselves," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We're pitching well and swinging the bats."
Four-hit effort
Suppan held the Rockies to four hits -- only one over the final five innings -- in what Colorado manager Clint Hurdle called the most effective effort by an opposing pitcher all season.
The Pirates opened a 5-0 lead by the third as Matt Stairs hit a three-run homer.
Chacon said the homer was his only real mistake of the game, but much of the damage was done by the Pirates' top two hitters, Kenny Lofton and Jason Kendall.
Lofton reached base and scored three times in the first four innings, and Kendall went 4-for-5.
With Suppan pitching so effortlessly despite reaching the 100-pitch mark by the sixth inning, McClendon left him in to finish. Suppan threw 129 pitches, but needed only 20 in the final two innings.
"If you allow a young pitcher to throw 129-130 pitches, you're asking for trouble," McClendon said. "That's not going to happen on my watch. ... It's different with a veteran guy. He made the decision easy."
The Pirates had gone 170 games without a complete game since Jimmy Anderson, now in the Reds' organization, beat Cincinnati on June 16, 2002. It also was the first shutout by a Pirates pitcher since Kip Wells beat the Cubs 5-0 on May 29, 2002.
"We scored early and kept scoring runs and our defense was outstanding," said Suppan, who hadn't thrown a shutout since April 29, 2002, with the Royals. "I took it inning by inning and was able to keep making my pitches. Everything kind of happened for us."
Big division matchups
With two series against the Astros and one each against the Reds and Brewers before the All-Star break, the Pirates must keep getting comparable starting pitching to make even a modest move in the standings.
The Pirates are eight games out and trail the Cardinals, Astros, Cubs and Reds in the NL Central.
"No one has taken charge in this division," shortstop Jack Wilson said. "If we don't do well by the All-Star break, it will be tough to get back in there."
Similarly, the Rockies are eight games out in the NL West heading into a four-game series at home against Arizona that starts tonight. The Diamondbacks have passed over Colorado in the standings by winning 11 straight.

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