McDonald sharp, but Pirates can’t score

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

James McDonald is growing up in front of manager Clint Hurdle’s eyes. Too bad Pittsburgh’s offense isn’t doing the same.

The right-hander pitched well yet again — allowing one run on four hits in eight innings, striking out eight, but the Pirates fell to the Astros 1-0 on Friday night.

“It’s fun to watch this young man take this step forward,” Hurdle said.

And just as painful to watch the Pirates squander opportunities. Pittsburgh had a runner on third with no outs in the fourth and loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, but failed to cash in while getting shut out for the fourth time this season.

“When the game gets hard, it looks more difficult to play than it is,” Hurdle said. “Nobody’s beating themselves up more than those guys. We’ve got to find a way to continue to push through it.”

McDonald (2-2) was hardly complaining about the lack of run support after lowering his ERA to 2.42.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “I’ve been that guy on the mound when I’ve gotten shelled ... they did what I asked them for today, played hard behind me.”

The Pirates just didn’t always play crisply. Jose Tabata was nailed at home trying to score from third on a grounder to shortstop, Andrew McCutchen was caught stealing and Josh Harrison was picked off first in the eighth.

“Sometimes you look good, sometimes you look absolutely ridiculous [on the bases],” Pittsburgh second baseman Neil Walker said. “The last week or so, we’ve just been caught in funny situations.”

Bud Norris (3-1) allowed three hits in six innings and struck out eight without walking a batter for the Astros.

Brett Myers pitched the ninth for his ninth save.