Locke sharp as Pirates slay Cards

Published April 28, 2013

Sports Network

St. Louis, MO –  Russell Martin hit two of Pittsburgh's four home runs to back a second straight solid outing from Jeff Locke.

The Pirates left-hander held St. Louis to three singles over seven scoreless innings, as Pittsburgh beat the Cardinals, 9-0, in the rubber match of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.

Locke (3-1) picked up from where he left off in his previous starting assignment. He gave up only two hits in six frames of Tuesday's 2-0 win at Philadelphia.

Jose Tabata and Garrett Jones each launched solo homers for the Pirates, who improved to 14-5 in their last 19 games.

Shelby Miller (3-2) had seven strikeouts but surrendered three runs on seven hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings for St. Louis, which lost its first series since dropping two of three to Arizona to begin the season.

Martin belted a solo shot to open the scoring in the second and his two-run blast capped a five-run ninth that included a two-run single by Pedro Alvarez.

Tabata took Miller deep with two outs in the fifth, and John McDonald greeted St. Louis reliever Fernando Salas in the next frame with a double that scored Brandon Inge.

Jones homered off Salas with two gone in the seventh.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle picked up his 700th career win ... The Pirates have won 15 games in the first month of the season for the first time since 1992 ... Martin and Jones each had three hits.

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Lackey sharp in return as Red Sox complete sweep of Astros

Published April 28, 2013

Sports Network

Boston, MA –  Stephen Drew and David Ortiz each drove in a pair of runs while John Lackey pitched six strong innings for the Boston Red Sox, who completed a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-1 win at Fenway Park.

Lackey (1-1), activated from the 15-day disabled list prior to the game, needed just 81 pitches to get through six innings in his second outing of the season. He allowed a run and five hits to go with four strikeouts as Boston completed its third series sweep of the season and retained the best record in the major leagues.

Daniel Nava and Matt Carp each had two hits for the Sox. Nava also scored three runs and ended the game with a diving catch out in right field.

Bud Norris (3-3) recorded the loss for Houston after surrendering five runs -- three earned -- on nine hits in six innings of work.

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