PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ross Ohlendorf was recently picked as the smartest player in baseball in a survey of major leaguers by Sports Illustrated.

The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander didn’t need his Princeton degree to explain the way he pitched Friday night.

“I didn’t pitch well at all,” he said.

Omar Infante and Logan Morrison homered during a nine-run third inning and the Florida Marlins pounded out 22 hits in a 13-4 rout.

Ohlendorf (0-2) had his string of winless starts reach 15 as he was rocked for six runs and 10 hits in two-plus innings. He needed 54 pitches to record six outs.

Ohlendorf has not won since July 2, 2010, against Philadelphia, and is tied with Cincinnati’s Dontrelle Willis for the longest active winless streak. Ohlendorf has been limited to six starts this season because of shoulder problems.

Infante drove in five runs, adding a solo shot in the first, while Morrison had four hits and three RBIs. The Marlins had a club-record 10 hits in the third. Morrison and Bryan Petersen each had two hits in the inning as Florida broke the record of nine, which had been done four times, most recently on Sept. 17, 2001, at Montreal.

Ohlendorf gave up four straight hits to start the third before being lifted.

“Almost all of the hits came off fastballs,” Ohlendorf said. “Stuff-wise, I wasn’t real great but location was the main thing, especially in the third inning. They were just very hittable pitches in terms of being up in the zone and in the middle of the plate, too.”

Ohlendorf has gone 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA in four starts since coming off the disabled list Aug. 23, allowing 33 hits in 16 innings. With less than three weeks left in the season, Ohlendorf is running out of time to break his winless streak or find the answers to his problems.

“He’s been working on things since he got here,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “I think some things he’s trying to figure but hasn’t are things that would give him the opportunity to get the ball down in the strike zone with consistency. We’re not getting good locations. Hitters have been too comfortable because Ross is making too many mistakes up in the zone.”

Florida’s 13 runs tied a season high, set July 16 against the Cubs at Chicago. The Marlins beat the Pirates for the 12th time in the last 14 meetings.

“I’m pretty sure this happens every week for the Yankees and the Red Sox, but it doesn’t for us,” Morrison said, alluding to the Marlins being 11th in the NL in runs scored. “It was a lot of fun.”

Infante hit his three-run homer in the third. It bounced off the glove of left fielder Alex Presley, who was on the warning track, and into the bleachers.

“It was a freak thing and I really don’t have an explanation for it,” Presley said. “I should catch it in my mind. It happened. Hopefully not again, though.”

The homer stretched the Marlins’ lead to 9-1.

Petersen, Emilio Bonifacio, Gaby Sanchez, Donnie Murphy, John Buck and winning pitcher Ricky Nolasco (10-10) all finished with two hits for the Marlins.

Pedro Ciriaco had two hits and two RBIs for the Pirates. Presley and Ryan Doumit had two hits apiece.

Nolasco’s streak of 22 scoreless innings against the Pirates ended in the second when Doumit doubled and scored on Ciriaco’s single to draw Pittsburgh within 2-1. Florida then countered with its big inning to put the game away.

Florida’s third inning came with a downside, though, as both right fielder Mike Stanton and first baseman Jose Lopez strained right hamstrings while running out hits and were forced to leave the game. Stanton, who has been bothered by hamstring stiffness since spring training, was making his first start since Sept. 3.

Florida took a 2-0 lead against Ohlendorf as Infante hit a solo home run down the left-field line in the first and doubled home Nolasco, who had singled, in the second.

The Marlins’ big third inning was started by Stanton, who singled. Murphy pinch ran, went to third on Morrison’s double and scored on a throwing error by right fielder Ryan Ludwick.

Lopez, Buck, Petersen and Nolasco followed with consecutive singles, with Lopez’s and Nolasco’s driving in runs. Bonifacio then hit a sacrifice fly, Infante hit his defense-aided, three-run blast and Morrison added his his two-run homer.

Florida made it 13-1 in the fifth as Murphy tripled and scored on Morrison’s single before Buck hit a run-scoring single.

Notes: Pittsburgh RHP Jeff Karstens will return to the rotation Tuesday against St. Louis after missing two starts because of shoulder fatigue. … Pirates LHP Jeff Locke will make his major league debut Saturday night when he faces RHP Anibal Sanchez (7-7, 3.83) in the middle game of the three-game series. Locke, 23, was a combined 8-10 with a 3.70 ERA in 28 games with Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis. Though Sanchez has struck out a career-high 173 batters in 171 1-3 innings this season, he has only one win in his last 15 starts. … Five Pittsburgh prospects have joined the club for the weekend but won’t be placed on the active roster: Indianapolis LHP Justin Wilson, 1B Matt Hague and OF Gorkys Hernandez and Altoona RHPs Kyle McPherson and Bryan Morris.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(Sports Network) – The Pittsburgh Pirates can begin one last improbable charge
toward the top of the National League’s Central Division tonight at Miller
Park, as they open a three-game series with the front-running Milwaukee
Brewers.

The Pirates were among the league’s biggest success stories for the season’s
first half, getting a share of the division for a brief spell and staying in
contention until a 10-game losing streak in late July and early August.

The dip pushed them below .500 for the season and to the fringes of contention
in the division, where they now trail the Brewers by 10 games after winning
two of three in San Francisco earlier in the week.

Milwaukee stretched its lead to four games over second-place St. Louis by
taking two of three in a series that ended Thursday, when Chris Carpenter
pitched eight strong innings and Albert Pujols went 4-for-4 with a homer and
two RBI as the Cardinals won, 5-2, to avoid a sweep.

Mark Kotsay and Prince Fielder both had RBI hits for the Brewers, who lost for
just the second time in their last 15 games. They grounded into four double
plays.

Yovani Gallardo (13-8) was saddled with the loss after allowing seven hits and
five runs — four earned — over five frames.

On Wednesday in San Francisco, Matt Diaz finished 2-for-4 with two RBI as
Pittsburgh plundered San Francisco, 9-2.

Ryan Ludwick added three hits, an RBI and two runs scored, while Andrew
McCutchen hit a two-run homer, walked three times and crossed the plate on
four occasions for the Pirates.

Jeff Karstens (9-6) worked six innings, allowing eight hits and two runs while
fanning nine for the win.

Milwaukee sends right-hander Zack Greinke to the mound, where he’ll face the
Pirates for the third time in his career.

The 27-year-old Floridian has won each of the first two meetings while
allowing a combined seven runs on 13 hits in 11 1/3 innings.

Lately, Greinke has won three straight outings, defeating the Chicago Cubs,
St. Louis and Houston while allowing 14 hits and three runs in 19 2/3 innings.

He’s been perfect at home in his first season with the Brewers, winning all
seven decisions in nine starts while posting a 3.49 earned run average.

Paul Maholm goes for the Pirates in search of his first win since July 10.

The Mississippi native was 6-9 on the season after a 9-1 defeat of the Cubs
that night, but has since dropped three decisions in five starts as his ERA
has ballooned from 2.96 to 3.54.

Maholm, a lefty, gave up 10 hits and seven runs in 6 2/3 innings of his last
outing, a 13-2 loss to San Diego on Aug. 6.

Maholm is 3-7 in 18 career starts against Milwaukee.

Milwaukee has won all five meetings with Pittsburgh this season and is 18-5 in
this series since the start of the 2010 campaign.

The Sports Network

(Sports Network) – The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t been the same team since
their controversial 19-inning loss to the Braves on July 26.

Since the horrendous call at home plate that allowed Julio Lugo to score the
winning run in the wee hours of the morning, the Pirates have fallen out of
first place in the NL Central and now find themselves in danger of a 19th
straight losing season and another year without a playoff spot. To make
matters worse, Pittsburgh has been losing to teams with far-worse records, in
all winning just once in its last 11 contests.

Included in that was a four-game sweep by the Cubs at PNC Park this week. On
Friday, the Pirates surrendered double-digit runs for the third time in the
last eight games, falling 15-5 to the Padres in the opener of this three-game
series.

It’s up to Paul Maholm to stop the slide and get the Pirates back on track
tonight against the Padres, even though they enter the day facing an eight-
game deficit for first in the division. The lefty is 0-2 over his last four
starts with the Bucs losing each of those games. Maholm is also 0-3 with a
3.71 ERA in four all-time starts against the Padres.

Countering for the Padres will be Cory Luebke, who has gone 2-4 with a 3.19
ERA, a .221 opponents batting average and 39 strikeouts against seven walks
in seven starts since joining the Padres rotation on June 26. The southpaw has
also struggled of late, losing three consecutive starts, but hasn’t received
much run support. San Diego has been outscored 13-5 in his last three games.

Last night, Chase Headley hit a grand slam and drove in five runs as San Diego
went deep four times in a 15-5 win, handing the Pirates their season-high
eighth straight defeat. They have given up 14 home runs in their past four
games.

Jesus Guzman, Kyle Blanks and Aaron Cunningham all hit home runs while Will
Venable went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Padres, who have
won two straight. Aaron Harang (10-3) benefited from the run support. He got
the win despite giving up 13 hits and four runs over five innings.

“Everybody contributed tonight, even the bench players,” said San Diego
manager Bud Black. “The guys had a good game and it was a good win to start
out the series.”

It was a season-high in runs for the Padres as they topped their 14-run mark
set on July 20 against Florida.

Ryan Ludwick was 4-for-4 with an RBI against his former team while Ryan Doumit
added a solo home run for Pittsburgh. Jeff Karstens (8-6) had his shortest
outing of the season as he was tagged for nine runs on nine hits over just 3
1/3 innings.

“We’re hanging breaking balls and elevating fastballs too much,” said
Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle. “And it’s not just one pitcher, it’s hurting
everyone.”

Pittsburgh won two of three games at San Diego from May 2-4, but the Pirates
have lost seven in a row at PNC Park to the Padres.

The Sports Network

By: SportsDirect

(Sports Network) – After enduring 18 straight losing seasons and countless
last place finishes in the NL Central, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in an odd
position on July 16 — in first place.

Percentage points ahead of St. Louis in the NL Central, the Pirates are in
first in the division this late in a season for the first time since 1997 when
they were in first on July 17. That year’s team finished 79-83, but this time
around a young nucleus of talent has the Pirates on top and Paul Maholm could
put the Bucs in first place alone tonight against the Houston Astros in the
second test of a three-game series from Minute Maid Park.

The 29-year-old Maholm, who has given up one earned run in each of his last
two starts — both wins –, will be on the mound this evening. The lefty held
down the Astros over six innings on July 4, and then six days later shut down
the Cubs in a 9-1 victory.

Maholm has gone 3-1 with a 1.04 ERA in six starts against National League
Central teams this year. He has more career wins (11) against the Astros than
any other opponent. His 11-6 mark in 19 games against Houston includes a 1-0
record with a 1.38 ERA this season.

Bud Norris, who is 3-4 with a 3.74 ERA in seven games against the Pirates,
counters for Houston. The right-hander is coming off a victory in Pittsburgh
on July 6 when he allowed seven hits and two runs in seven innings.

Last night, Jeff Karstens tossed a five-hit shutout and Andrew McCutchen added
a two-run triple in Pittsburgh’s 4-0 win.

“‘Cutch’ is swinging the bat as well as anybody right now,” said Pirates
manager Clint Hurdle. “He’s in such a good place he’s seeing the ball, getting
good looks and hitting it all over.”

Karstens (8-4) turned in his fifth straight positive decision and recorded his
first complete-game whitewash since 2008. He needed just 83 pitches (64 for
strikes) to finish the outing.

The victory, combined with the Cardinals’ loss in Cincinnati moved the teams
into a virtual tie atop the NL Central. Milwaukee is a half-game back and
Cincinnati is three games off the pace.

Neil Walker added an RBI single and Alex Presley scored twice for the Pirates,
who have won six of their last eight.

Brett Myers (3-10) worked six innings in the loss, allowing five hits and
three runs despite striking out a season-high 11 batters for the Astros, who
fell to 1-10 in July.

Pittsburgh is 8-2 this season against the Astros and swept a three-game set at
Minute Maid Park in its last visit from June 14-16.

The Sports Network

(Sports Network) – Surprise early-season standout Kevin Correia can get the
Pittsburgh Pirates back to .500 today when they host the New York Mets in game
three of a four-game set at PNC Park.

The Mets entered Saturday’s game with a chance to get back to .500, but were
denied when Andrew McCutchen stroked a two-run double and James McDonald
tossed six innings in the Pirates’ 3-2 win.

McDonald (4-4) gave up two runs, eight hits and three walks for the Pirates,
who rebounded from an 8-1 loss in the opener and are 7-4 in their last 11
contests. Jose Tabata is riding a five-game hitting streak.

R.A. Dickey (3-7) went the distance for New York, allowing three runs on eight
hits over eight frames. Jose Reyes had two hits and leads the majors with 32
multi-hit games this season. He has reached base safely in 52 of his 61 games
this season and leads the majors with a .341 average, 91 hits and 11 triples.

The Mets lost for just the third time in their last nine games.

New York is fourth in the National League’s East Division and 7 1/2 games
behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies, while the Pirates are fourth in
the NL Central and 5 1/2 back of first-place St. Louis.

Correia, who entered the season with a 36-43 record in the big leagues, was
5-4 after a 9-6 loss at Milwaukee on May 15, but has since bounced back with a
four-start unbeaten run.

He won consecutive decisions over Detroit, the Chicago Cubs and the Mets
through June 1, then pitched five innings in the Pirates’ 8-5 win against
Arizona in his last start on June 7.

Against New York, the 30-year-old Californian allowed six hits and two runs
across six innings in upping his career mark against the Mets to 2-3 in 11
games — five starts.

Pittsburgh is 9-5 in the 14 games he’s pitched.

For New York, 32-year-old lefty Chris Capuano continues his comeback with his
14th appearance of the season and 12th start.

The Massachusetts native was an 18-game winner with the Milwaukee Brewers in
2005, then won 11 and five games the following two years before not pitching
at all in the big leagues in 2008 and 2009.

He returned to make 24 appearances with the Brewers in 2010, then signed with
the Mets as a free agent on Jan. 3, 2011.

Capuano took the loss in the June 1 matchup with Correia and the Pirates after
allowing eight hits and five runs in six innings. He rebounded for a 2-1 win
at Milwaukee on June 7, giving up just six hits and a run in six innings. Mets
starters have posted a 2.70 ERA over their last 16 games — the lowest in the
majors over that period.

The Mets and Pirates split a four-game set in Flushing, N.Y. from May 30-June
2, but New York is 10-4 in the last 14 meetings overall.

The Sports Network

Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) – The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Friday they
have placed pitcher Evan Meek on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder
tendinitis.

To fill the vacant roster spot, the Pirates selected the contract of pitcher
Tim Wood from Triple-A Indianapolis. They also transferred catcher Chris
Snyder to the 60-day disabled list.

Wood, 28, tallied 13 saves and a 2.96 earned run average in 23 relief
appearances for Indianapolis this season. The right-hander did not allow a
home run in 24 1/3 innings.

Wood began the 2011 season with the Washington Nationals, but was released
March 31 and signed with the Pirates. He made 44 appearances for the Marlins
in the 2009-10 seasons, posting a 4.32 ERA.

Meek has posted a 4.40 ERA in 17 games this season.

The Sports Network

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) – The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher Ryan
Doumit and infielder Steve Pearce on the 15-day disabled list Monday.

Doumit is suffering from a left ankle sprain, while Pearce has a right calf
strain.

Doumit left Sunday’s game against the Cubs after injuring his ankle in the
second inning.

Doumit was blocking the plate as Carlos Pena came running in from third trying
to score on Koyie Hill’s fly ball. The catcher was several feet up the third-
base line, and Pena slid into the lower half of his left leg as the throw from
right field came to the plate. Doumit’s ankle was caught underneath Pena
during the slide, and he limped around in pain after the runner was ruled
safe.

Pearce left Saturday’s contest against the Cubs after feeling soreness in his
right calf while advancing to second on a throw to home plate after hitting a
single.

Doumit is carrying a .269 batting average with four home runs and 15 RBI,
while Pearce is batting .291 with one homer and 10 RBI.

To fill the roster spots, the Pirates have selected the contracts of catcher
Dusty Brown and infielder Josh Harrison from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Brown appeared in seven games for the Boston Red Sox last season where he hit
.250 with two RBI. Harrison has yet to appear in a major league game but ranks
fifth in the International League with a .321 batting average this season.

Pittsburgh also transferred pitcher Ross Ohlendorf from the 15-day disabled
list to the 60-day DL because of a right shoulder posterior strain.

The Sports Network

We hear it all the time from coaches after a win: “We played a great game, got a much-needed win but we’re still searching for that complete effort—all facets of the game.”

You wont hear that from Clint Hurdle for awhile.

The Pirates thoroughly destroyed the Cubs 10-0 Saturday afternoon, belting out 10 hits of which four left the park.  The Pirates started the scoring in the top of the fourth when Steve Pearce drilled an 87 mph fastball up the middle for a two run single. 

Two batters later, Ronny Cedeno widened the margin with a three-run shot to right field, extending the lead to 5-0. 

The Pirates tacked on two runs in the sixth off of a pair of solo shots from Lyle Overbay and Chris Snyder. 

In the seventh inning, Andrew McCutchen destroyed an outside fastball into the right field seats, extending the lead to nine. 

An RBI double by Garrett Jones in the ninth put salt in the wound, as the Pirates scored double-digit runs for the second time this season.  

The pitching, as it has been all season, was spectacular, as Pirates starter Paul Maholm tossed a three-hit shutout and lowered his ERA by .47 points. It was Maholm’s third shutout of his career. 

Battling problems with his teammates giving him little run support all season, Maholm saved his best outing for a 10-run effort by the hitters.  Heading into the game, Maholm was the second “unluckiest” starter in the majors with his offense averaging just 1.9 runs per start.  Pearce’s two-run single to start the scoring onslaught was more than enough for Maholm. 

Notes

• Andrew McCutchen’s home run was his ninth of the year, leading the team.
• Steve Pearce left the game with a calf injury after scoring on Cedeno’s three-run home run in the fourth.  Brandon Wood took his place.
• Paul Maholm was the only Pirates starter who did not record a hit.
• May 28, 2011: Pirates record 15th road win of the season.  It took until September 12, 2010 for the Pirates to record their 15th road win last season.
• Per Root Sports, Pedro Alvarez will rehab in Bradenton but will not be allowed to run after hitting the ball.
• Pirates will go for their first three-game sweep of the season tomorrow.  Karstens vs. Dempster

(Sports Network) – Pittsburgh Pirates starter Charlie Morton will try to win
his fourth straight start this evening when he squares off against his former
club, the Atlanta Braves, in the opener of a two-game set at PNC Park.

Morton, a 2002 draft pick of the Braves who pitched for one season with the
club in 2008, is 5-1 with a 2.62 earned run average through eight starts and
is coming off his second career shutout, a five-hitter in Cincinnati on
Wednesday.

“For me, that’s the best thing I can do,” said Morton. “I mean, that’s the
most rewarding thing in my eyes that a starter can do, is go out there and
throw a complete game. So I feel like I did my job.”

The 27-year-old righty hasn’t lost since April 20, going 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA
in his last four starts.

Morton has faced the Braves twice before, going 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA.

Atlanta counters with Jair Jurrjens, who will serve as the other side of this
potential pitcher’s duel. Jurrjens is second in the National League with a
1.80 earned run average and is 5-1 through seven starts.

The right-hander is coming off his first loss of the season, one that snapped
a four-start winning streak, but it was to no fault of his own. Jurrjens held
Arizona to a pair of runs on eight hits, including just his second homer
allowed this season, over 6 2/3 innings of a 2-1 loss on Thursday.

“J.J. pitched good enough to deserve to win the ballgame,” said Atlanta
manager Fredi Gonzalez. “Our bats didn’t come alive until those last two
innings. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

In four career starts against the Pirates, the 25-year-old Jurrjens is 1-3
with a 3.13 ERA.

Jurrjens may have to remain in top form tonight given that Atlanta will be
without two of its regulars. Jason Heyward was placed on the 15-day disabled
list following Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Angels because of discomfort in his
right shoulder, while fellow outfielder Nate McLouth suffered a strained left
oblique during his first at-bat of the game and landed on the DL Monday.

Heyward has been in a prolonged slump in May, going just 4-for-41 (.098)
during the month without a homer or RBI.

Without Heyward and McLouth, the Braves managed just Joe Mather’s RBI hit that
scored Freddie Freeman, who had two of Atlanta’s six hits in its fourth loss
in five games. Derek Lowe gave up three runs over six innings to suffer the
defeat.

“Lowe pitched well enough to win the ballgame. They got the big hits when they
needed to and we didn’t,” Gonzalez said.

The Pirates will also be looking to rebound tonight after having a four-game
win streak halted with Sunday’s 2-0 setback to the Tigers. Pittsburgh was held
to just two hits in the loss, one each from Ronny Cedeno and Xavier Paul.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of offense for us,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle
said. “We did everything we could as a staff to minimize the damage.”

Paul Maholm was the hard-luck loser, allowing two runs on six hits in 5 1/3
innings.

Hurdle will have a new bullpen option for this game after the Pirates
activated former All-Star Evan Meek from the disabled list. The right-hander
was out with shoulder tendinitis and is 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA in 11 games this
season.

The Braves took six of nine from the Pirates a season ago, with the clubs
splitting six games at PNC Park.

The Sports Network

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Pirates have reportedly turned down an offer from the Texas Rangers for closer Joel Hanrahan.

According to a report published on MLBTradeRumors.com, the Rangers inquired about Hanrahan, but the Pirates were not interested in dealing their closer.

An earlier report claimed that if the Pirates were to move Hanrahan, it would be for a significant price.

Hanrahan broke into the majors with the Washington Nationals in 2007.

Since coming to the Pirates in 2009, Hanrahan is 4-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 122 2/3 innings with 19 saves.

The Pirates open up a brief two-game series with the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night.

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PITTSBURGH — The Detroit Tigers still aren’t scoring much. For one afternoon, Rick Porcello made sure it didn’t matter.

The 22-year-old right-hander shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, allowing just one hit over eight innings as the Tigers ended a five-game losing streak with a 2-0 win.

“He kept the ball on the ground pretty good,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “He was pounding the strike zone pretty good. He was fantastic. No question about it, he was fantastic.”

Porcello (4-2) took a no-hitter into the sixth before giving up Ronny Cedeno’s leadoff double. He struck out three and walked two in his first start in nearly two weeks.

Despite cruising through eight innings on 84 pitches, Porcello was replaced in the ninth by closer Jose Valverde. The move nearly backfired before Valverde worked out of a two-on, none-out jam to earn his 11th save in as many chances.

“I know it’s worth a second guess for everybody in America, but to me, it was a no-brainer,” Leyland said. “Unless a guy is absolutely lights out, your closer is supposed to be better than your starting pitcher who has just pitched eight innings on a pretty hot day.”

Porcello wasn’t complaining. And he wasn’t lamenting the loss of a shot at the first shutout of his career, though he did plead his case to Leyland to stay in the game.

“I was telling him I was good to go and he said, ‘No you’re not,’ and that was that,” Porcello said. “It’s a losing battle. … I understand it, though. We needed that win bad. (Valverde) is ready to go and that’s why he’s there, to close out tight games.”

Paul Maholm (1-7) gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings but was again undone by a lack of run support as Pittsburgh failed to get back to the .500 mark.

“You can say I’m pitching good enough to lose, that’s kind of how it’s going,” Maholm said. “Hopefully it turns around soon.”

Porcello’s previous start was wiped out by rain, but he hardly looked rusty. He kept the surging Pirates off balance all afternoon and even added a single during a rare plate appearance.

“He was just throwing a lot of strikes,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “You look at his pitch count when he went out after eight innings, you’re not going to see many lower the rest of the season.”

Still, Pittsburgh managed to make it interesting in the ninth. Xavier Paul singled and Valverde hit Andrew McCutchen with a pitch before bearing down to strike out pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit. The reliever then got Garrett Jones and Neil Walker to hit harmless groundballs to end it.

“He put himself in a pretty tough jam but he also did a heck of a job to get out of that jam,” Leyland said.

Jhonny Peralta had two hits, including his seventh home run of the season, and Casper Wells added an RBI single for Detroit.

The Tigers have been one of baseball’s most Jeckyll and Hyde teams in May. They ripped off a seven-game winning streak earlier this month, then followed it with a weeklong run of futility behind an anemic offense.

Leyland bemoaned his team’s woeful run production during the slide, marked by a lack of clutch hitting with runners in scoring position.

Detroit wasn’t much better Sunday, but the way Porcello was dealing the Tigers, didn’t have to be.

“We’ve got to hope this win gets some guys going, maybe relaxes some guys a little,” Leyland said. “We’re back to .500 and hopefully we’ll get on a positive roll. Our starting pitching has been good and we’ve got to give them some help.”

Porcello hardly needed it. He retired the first nine batters he faced until walking McCutchen leading off the fourth. McCutchen stole second but was stranded at third when Walker struck out to end the inning.

Pittsburgh’s only serious threat came after Cedeno finally broke through in the sixth. He moved to third on a sacrifice and the Pirates had runners at the corners with one out after McCutchen walked.

Porcello hardly looked rattled, getting Jose Tabata to hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Pirates were looking for their first three-game sweep in interleague play in a decade but the offense that fueled their modest four-game run again vanished with Maholm on the mound.

Pittsburgh has scored 14 runs when the veteran left-hander is on the hill. Though he wasn’t nearly as sharp as Porcello — he needed 96 pitches to get 16 outs — Maholm did what he’s done most of the season by keeping the Pirates in it.

“Paul probably had below-average command, below-average stuff and way-above-average guts,” Hurdle said. “(He used) duct tape and chicken wire and kept going out there and kept going at ‘em and gave us a chance to win.”

NOTES: Injured Pittsburgh reliever Evan Meek could rejoin the team as early as this week. Meek has been on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis. … Detroit is 64-29 in interleague play since 2006, the second-best mark in the majors behind Boston during that period. … The Tigers now head home for a 10-game homestand. … The Pirates host a two-game set against Atlanta starting Tuesday.

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PITTSBURGH —  Kevin Correia is learning not to panic. So is his surprisingly resilient team.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ steady No. 1 starter didn’t let a fourth-inning hiccup get to him, hanging in against the Detroit Tigers until the offense picked him up in a 6-2 win.

The victory was the right-hander’s first as a Pirate at PNC Park. He’d struggled in three previous starts this season at the quirky, hitter-friendly stadium, going 0-3 with a 6.50 ERA.

There were no such issues against the slumping Tigers, who lost their fifth straight. Correia (6-4) limited Detroit to two runs over 6 2/3 innings, striking out four.

“I did some stuff better today and some stuff wasn’t that great,” Correia said. “I felt like I threw the ball well and I’m glad I hung in there long enough for our offense to really jump around.”

Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 4 and scored twice for Pittsburgh, which has won four straight for the first time since last September. Joel Hanrahan helped the Pirates escape a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth to pick up his 13th save.

“The guys are feeling it,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “There’s a little bit of less anxiety in the dugout. Even when we were down 2-0 there was some calmness.”

Thanks in part to Correia, who won five of his first seven decisions but has faded in May. He entered the game coming off his worst outing of the season in a loss at Milwaukee last Sunday.

While he wasn’t dominant, he was good enough and didn’t get rattled after the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the fourth behind consecutive doubles from Andy Dirks and Miguel Cabrera.

“The experience of not letting a game spiral out of control like I had (helped),” Correia said. “I definitely think I threw the ball well enough to get the win tonight.”

Detroit’s Max Scherzer (6-1) could say the same thing. He began the night tied for the American League lead in wins and looked dominant at times, retiring 10 straight during one stretch before fading in the sixth when the Pirates touched him up for three runs.

“I wish I would have executed better within the strike zone, especially with men on base,” Scherzer said. “I didn’t finish hitters off. I gave them a chance to execute and get some big hits and sac flies and they did.”

An RBI single by Garrett Jones and sacrifice flies by Neil Walker and Lyle Overbay gave the Pirates the lead. They added three more runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run single by Matt Diaz.

“All I knew is if I didn’t hit it back to the pitcher, I’d be OK,” said Diaz, who helped the Pirates tack on an extra run later in the inning by extending a rundown long enough to allow teammate Jose Tabata to score.

The victory helped Pittsburgh match its entire 2010 win total in interleague play. The Pirates went a woeful 2-13 against National League teams last year, including an 0-3 mark against the Tigers.

Yet Hurdle has urged his team to forget about the past, and the Pirates have proven to be pluckier so far than the team that lost 105 games a year ago.

The win lifted Pittsburgh’s record to 22-23, a solid if not spectacular start for team that hasn’t posted a winning season since Detroit manager Jim Leyland led the Pirates to the National League East title nearly 20 years ago.

Leyland fondly remembers his time in Pittsburgh. His present isn’t so hot.

The Tigers appeared to be rolling after ripping off seven wins earlier this month. They’ve backed it up with five losses in which they’ve scored eight runs.

“We’re making it tough for our pitchers right now,” Leyland said. “Everything is life and death for them because they have no cushion.”

Detroit came in mired in a 2-for-31 slump with runners in scoring position, but hit three doubles in the fourth to jump in front.

“I thought maybe we would get something going,” Leyland said. “We three doubles in one inning to score two runs and I thought maybe that would us out of it a little bit.”

Not really. Yet when it really mattered, the Tigers again couldn’t get the big hit they needed.

Detroit put two men on in the seventh to chase Correia and Austin Jackson drilled a fastball from Pittsburgh reliever Jose Veras. He just hit it to straight center field, where McCutchen caught it on the warning track to end the inning.

The Tigers had one last chance in the ninth after loading the bases with no outs.

Hanrahan, however, struck out Ryan Raburn looking then got Jackson to hit into a game-ending double play to put Pittsburgh in a position to sweep an interleague series for the first time since taking three games from Cleveland in 2001.

NOTES: Detroit’s Jackson went 0 for 5 to end his 12-game hitting streak. … Though his team’s offense is struggling, Leyland opted to sit Victor Martinez. The team’s normal designated hitter caught just his ninth game of the season on Friday. Martinez leads the Tigers with a .313 average. He grounded out as a pinch hitter in the eighth . … Veras made the first plate appearance of his career in the seventh and ended up walking on four pitches and later scored on the double by Diaz. … The game drew a sellout crowd of 37,958, the first time this season PNC Park has been filled to capacity since Opening Day.