By Will Graves
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH ó Charlie Morton remembers watching Jair Jurrjens pitch while the two were teammates in Atlanta and marveling at Jurrjensí stuff.
ěHe was just dealing when I was there and I was just getting by,î Morton said with a laugh.
A few years later, Jurrjens still has the upperhand.
The 25-year-old right-hander continued his sparkling spring, pitching six-hit ball into the eighth inning to lead the Braves to a 2-0 win over Morton and the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Jurrjens (6-1) struck out four and walked one in 7 2-3 innings while dropping his ERA to 1.56. Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth for his 13th save.
ěIím just trying to throw strikes,î Jurrjens said. ěItís not easy coming from a day off trying to pitch and the position players over there also had a day off, so youíre trying to take advantage of that and just throw strikes and make them get themselves out.î
The Pirates were only too happy to oblige. Pittsburgh never got a runner to third base while extending its scoreless streak to 19 innings.
Alex Gonzalez had three hits and scored a run for the Braves, who scratched out just enough offense to end Mortonís three-game winning streak.
Morton (5-2) continued his bounceback year, giving up seven hits while striking out four and walking three in seven-plus innings.
Yet he couldnít quite match Jurrjens, who has been electric through the seasonís first two months. He had little trouble with the punchless Pirates, needing just 97 pitches ó 71 strikes ó to send Pittsburgh to its second straight shutout loss.
Jurrjensí control worsened as the game went on. He threw three balls total in the first three innings.
ěI looked up and I saw the ball-strike thing and I was like, ëIs that right?íî Morton said. ěHeís really good at throwing the ball where he wants with all his pitches.î
He needed to be sharp to help the ailing Braves.
Atlanta came to town on the last stop of a miserable road trip in which it dropped four out of five and put starting outfielders Jason Heyward and Nate McLouth on the disabled list with injuries.
ěLuckily we had JJ going tonight because we havenít been scoring a lot of runs lately,î Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman said. ěBut when you get pitching like that ó and our bullpen came in and shut it down ó two runs was enough tonight.î
Pittsburgh appeared to have found a groove last week, putting together a season-high four-game winning streak that pulled it within a game of .500. The Pirates scored 26 runs during the span but havenít crossed the plate since doing it three times in the seventh inning of a 6-2 win over Detroit on Saturday.
Then again, Jurrjens didnít give them much of a chance.
ěI think out of (his) pitches, there were maybe one or two that didnít hit the mark where (catcher Brian) McCann set up,î Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. ěSo when you have that kind of command with all your pitches, youíre going to be successful.î
Pittsburghís best opportunity came in the sixth when they put two on with no outs thanks to an infield hit and a walk, but Neil Walker popped to shortstop and Lyle Overbay hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Pirates didnít threaten again.
Atlanta pushed across a run in the second thanks to a rare flyball allowed by Morton, who has bounced nicely back from an awful 2010 in which he went 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA.
He has become one of the National Leagueís biggest surprises behind a nasty sinker that has made opponents beat the ball into the ground with regularity.
He had won his last three decisions, including a shutout against Cincinnati last Thursday, and had a 2.62 ERA coming in. More than 75 percent of his outs this season have come on groundballs.
The Braves didnít get the ball in the air often, but they made it count when they did.
Gonzalez gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the second, coming home on a sacrifice fly by Brooks Conrad. They made it 2-0 an inning later thanks to an RBI double by Martin Prado.
Atlanta had a chance to break it open in the fifth but Morton benefited from an overzealous fan.
Prado beat out a double-play attempt to keep the inning alive and Chipper Jones followed with a deep drive to right-center. A fan reached over the fence and tried to grab the ball with a baseball cap but it squirted free and dropped onto the field. Umpires awarded Jones a ground-rule double, forcing Prado to stop at third. The call was upheld on replay and Morton got out of the jam when McCann grounded out to first.
Not that it mattered. Two runs were all Jurrjens needed.
ěHeís been like this all year ó quality start after quality start,î Fredi Gonzalez said. ěItís just nice to see the consistency.î
NOTES: Atlanta 2B Dan Uggla didnít start for the first time this season but entered in the eighth as a defensive replacement. … Atlanta RHP Tim Hudsonís back is feeling much better. He will miss Wednesdayís scheduled start with back pain but is expected to be available when his next turn in the rotation comes on May 30. … Pittsburgh reliever Evan Meek pitched a scoreless ninth. Meek rejoined the club Sunday after spending time on the 15-day DL with tendinitis in his right shoulder.