Sizzling Pirates blank Astros for a rare four-game sweep

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Clint Hurdle isn’t much for milestones. Still, the veteran manager knows there’s something significant about being 10 games over .500 in July, and his Pittsburgh Pirates are there after a 2-0 win over Houston on Thursday night.

“It means we’re not going to sneak up on anybody anymore,” he said.

Given the way his streaking club is playing at the moment, it might not matter.

Jeff Karstens (2-2) scattered four hits over eight innings and the Pirates completed their first four-game home sweep of the Astros since 1979.

The right-hander, making his third start since spending two months on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation and a hip flexor, struck out a season-high eight while walking just one.

“He was getting strike one, and with the arsenal he has he can take it a lot of places from there,” Hurdle said.

Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee each drove in a run for Pittsburgh, which has won eight of nine to vault into first in the NL Central. Joel Hanrahan pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.

At 46-36, the Pirates have their best record through 82 games since 1992.

“We’re confident, not cocky,” Hurdle said. “We’ve worked hard to get to this spot. We’re making our way.”

And the Astros are making their way home after a miserable 0-7 road trip. Houston has dropped eight straight overall and looked punchless a day after trading slugger Carlos Lee to the Miami Marlins.

Houston managed four singles and didn’t get a runner to third base until the ninth.

“It’s a tough road trip for us,” said Bud Norris, who dropped his fifth consecutive decision. “We’re excited to go home. We’ve got three games before the [All-Star] break. It’s a tough little stretch here but we’ve got to keep playing hard, keep battling and see what we can do.”

While the Astros are struggling, the Pirates are rolling behind an offense that has been among the hottest in the National League over the last six weeks.

There were no such fireworks on Thursday, and Karstens didn’t need them.

Deftly mixing his fastball with a curveball that followed orders, Karstens kept the Astros off balance all night. The right-hander threw 62 of his 89 pitches for strikes and looked an awful lot like the pitcher who spent the first half of the 2011 season among the NL leaders in ERA.