Pirates 4, Astros 0
Jeff Karstens pitched a five-hitter for his fifth straight victory and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates opened the second half with a 4-0 victory over the lowly Houston Astros on Friday night.
All-Star Andrew McCutchen had a two-run triple for Pittsburgh (48-43), which has won 13 of 19 and is five games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1992 season (96-66).
Pittsburgh notched its eighth win in the last 10 meetings against the major league-worst Astros (30-63), who have dropped five straight and 18 of 21.
The Pirates, who are tied for first with St. Louis in the National League Central, haven’t had a winning season in 18 years - the longest stretch in North American professional sports.
Karstens (8-4) has played a big role in their resurgence. The righthander improved to 5-0 with a 1.30 ERA over his last eight starts by beating the Astros for the third time this season. He needed only 83 pitches - 64 strikes - to notch his second career shutout. His first came in 2008.
Karstens got all the support he needed early. Neil Walker drove in a run in the first and McCutchen's hit came off Brett Myers (3-10) in the third.