Four Diamondbacks pitchers blank Bucs


June 10, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

For the first time this week, the Diamondbacks bullpen backed up a strong Arizona start. Chris Young provided the offense with one swing.

Young hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, four Arizona pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout and the Diamondbacks snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.

Young pulled a 2-0 pitch from Chris Resop (2-2) down the left-field line just inside the foul pole for his 12th homer of the season. Reliever Micah Owings (2-0) legged out a one-out infield single before Young’s hit.

“The pitching staff’s been doing such a good job,” Young said, “and the last couple games we haven’t been able to put the runs up for them, and we’ve kind of put them in some situations they probably shouldn’t have been in in the first place. We probably could have put up more runs.”

Diamondbacks’ starters had allowed only two runs over 19 1/3 innings in the previous three games — but a combination of lack of offense and some blown saves conspired to result in the losing streak.

Thursday, Josh Collmenter continued his stellar rookie season, pitching five-plus shutout innings. This time, Joe Paterson, Owings and David Hernandez finished up the Diamondbacks’ sixth shutout of the campaign by allowing only one hit in four innings.

Two days after allowing five runs without retiring a batter, Hernandez earned his second save with a perfect ninth.

After holding opponents to a .208 average and having a 2.34 ERA in May, Arizona’s bullpen came in to Thursday having allowed 18 earned runs in 19 June innings.

The Pirates (30-31) won four of their previous five and six of eight. But they missed out on a sweep — and on an opportunity to move above .500 this late in the season for the first time in 12 years..

The Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen drew a walk with two outs in the first and went to third when Neil Walker followed with a single. But he was the only runner to advance that far for either team until Young’s homer.