NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates rally to turn back Atlanta, 6-5

Jose Hernandez's two-out single in the ninth drove in the winning run.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jose Hernandez's bases-loaded single with two outs in the ninth rallied Pittsburgh past the Atlanta Braves 6-5 Friday night, the Pirates' season high-tying fourth straight victory.
The Braves had tied it at 5 in the top of the ninth on Chipper Jones' RBI single off Julian Tavarez (3-3), who pitched the final three innings.
Will Cunnane (0-1), the Braves' fourth pitcher, came on to walk Jack Wilson to start the ninth and Carlos Rivera, hitless in his previous 11 at-bats, singled with one out. After Reggie Sanders was intentionally walked to load the bases, Jason Bay flied out to short left as the runners held.
Hernandez then singled up the middle to win it. Cunnane, just up from the minors, was forced to pitch the ninth because the Braves are currently without four injured relievers, including closer John Smoltz.
Tavaras couldn't hold lead
Tavarez, trying for an infrequent three-inning save, pitched a perfect seventh and eighth but Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles singled to start the Braves' ninth. Giles had three hits, including a two-run single in the sixth.
Tavarez got Gary Sheffield swinging on a 3-2 pitch, but Jones -- 9-for-12 against the right-hander -- singled into right field to tie it.
The Braves' comeback prevented 18-game winner Russ Ortiz from losing for only the second time in 14 starts. He left trailing 5-2 following a 1 hour, 16 minute rain delay in the top of the sixth.
The Pirates' Salomon Torres also was lifted after five innings and was in line to win as a starter for the first time in six starts since May 17, but the Braves closed to 5-4 on Giles' two-run single in the sixth off Brian Boehringer.
Sheffield had an RBI single in the Braves' first, but Torres avoided a potentially bigger inning by retiring three straight batters with runners on first and second and a run in.
Bay, acquired from San Diego on Tuesday in the Brian Giles trade, started the Pirates' three-run second with a walk and Hernandez doubled. Rob Mackowiak then hit his fifth homer and his fourth in eight games since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Aug. 19.
Mackowiak had 16 homers as a part-time player last season, but was demoted to the minors on June 8 after homering only once in the first two months of this season.
Ortiz had allowed three or fewer earned runs in eight consecutive starts until giving up nine in 112/3 innings over his last two starts.
The Braves cut it to 3-2 in the fifth with the help of a Torres wild pitch ahead of Jones' run-scoring grounder. But the Pirates scored twice in their half of the inning on Matt Stairs' RBI double and Bay's run-scoring single.
Notes
Ortiz, 6-0 in eight career starts against Pittsburgh, gave up seven runs and five hits and walked four, two intentionally. ... Ortiz has yielded 12 hits and nine runs in 10 innings in two starts against Pittsburgh this season. ... Wilson went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games, starting the two-run sixth with a single.