INTERLEAGUE Pirates topple Angels

Daryle Ward's 3-run blast helped end a nine-game losing streak for the Bucs.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- For the first time in more than a week, the Pittsburgh Pirates went home from the ball park looking forward to reading a newspaper or watching the TV highlight shows.
Daryle Ward's three-run homer finished off Pittsburgh's five-run fifth inning, and the Pirates avoided their longest losing streak in 36 years by beating the Anaheim Angels 5-3 Wednesday night.
Despite falling behind 2-0, the Pirates averted their first 10-game losing streak since July 6-15, 1968. They also ended a 14-game interleague losing streak against AL West clubs and a six-game home skid, handing the Angels their eighth loss in 11 games.
Mesa gets save
Jose Mesa struck out Chone Figgins and Adam Kennedy with runners at second and third to end it.
"It's good to not have to look in the paper and see we've lost eight or nine in a row," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It feels good. I might even get some sleep tonight."
Ward has been one of the few pleasant surprises in a mostly bad season in which the Pirates have gone from a game over .500 on May 29 to 11 games under in just more than two weeks.
Ward hit only .183 with no homers in 109 at-bats for the Dodgers last season before signing with Pittsburgh as a minor league free agent. He is on pace to best his career high of 20 homers with Houston in 2000, and his 28 RBIs are third on the club, even though he spent the first five weeks of the season in the minors.
"That felt good, to get a win and put a smile on your face," Ward said. "It just hasn't been happening for us, and today it finally happened. We had to keep it going and keep playing hard, we just needed to win to get some confidence."
Josh Fogg (4-5) became the first Pirates starting pitcher to win since he beat the Cubs on May 29 -- a 15-game stretch during which Pittsburgh starters went 0-8 -- by limiting the Angels to two runs over five innings. The right-hander has won four of five decisions since going 0-4 in his first six starts.