Marty McLeary, a journeyman minor leaguer most of his career, pitched seven shutout innings in only his second major league start and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 Saturday night to end an eight-game losing streak.
The Reds were mathematically eliminated from the NL Central race earlier in the day when the Cardinals beat the Brewers and they looked like it, doing nothing offensively against a 32-year-old right-hander pitching in only his eighth game in the majors. Cincinnati had won five of six and seven of 10 to make an unexpected late-season run for the division title.
Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez went 0-for-4 to trim his lead in the NL batting race against Florida's Miguel Cabrera to three points. Cabrera went 1-for-4 Saturday against Philadelphia. The season ends Sunday.
The Pirates have had 24 batting champions, the most in the NL, but haven't had a champion since Bill Madlock won in 1983. Sanchez also needs two hits Sunday to join Jack Wilson (2004) as the only Pirates players to get 200 hits in a season since 1978.
The 32-year-old McLeary (2-0) had pitched in only four previous major league games, with San Diego in 2004, before being called up by the Pirates late last month, yet had pitched effectively in both of his starts with an 0.75 ERA. He gave up four hits and one run in five innings Sunday during a 2-1 loss to San Diego.
McLeary didn't allow a runner past second base and worked out of his biggest jam by getting David Ross to ground out with runners on first and second and two outs in the fourth.
Matt Capps, who leads major league rookies with 84 appearances, followed McLeary by pitching a scoreless eighth that was interrupted by a 14-minute rain delay _ one that was considerably shorter than the three-hour, 26-minute delay needed before the Astros-Pirates game Thursday afternoon. Salomon Torres finished up with a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 14 opportunities.
By winning, the Pirates (66-95) gave themselves a chance to avoid losing more games than the 95 they lost last season _ a record that led to manager Lloyd McClendon's firing in early September.
The Reds (80-81) must win Sunday to avoid a sixth consecutive losing season. Regardless of that outcome, they have their best record since going 85-77 in 2000.
The Pirates were long since assured of their 14th consecutive losing season, two short of the Phillies' major league record. But a victory Sunday would give them a winning record after the all-star break for the first time since they last they won a division title, in 1992.
Reds starter Bronson Arroyo (14-11) took over the major league lead in innings pitched with 240 2-3 by throwing seven innings, but took the loss _ only his second in six decisions this month. No Reds pitcher has led the NL outright in innings pitched since Bucky Walters in 1941. Jack Billingham tied in 1973.
The Pirates took the lead on Ronny Paulino's one-out RBI double in the second, then stretched it to 3-0 when Jay Bay and Xavier Nady singled and Ryan Doumit was hit with a pitch ahead of Jose Bautista's two-run single in the sixth.
Notes: Paulino is hitting .311 and could become the first rookie
catcher since Mike Piazza in 1993 to hit at least .310 and play at
least 100 games. ... Arroyo, cut by the Pirates three years ago, has
won 28 games the last two seasons with the Red Sox and Reds. ... The
Pirates are 36-35 since the break.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
