PITTSBURGH — Jeff Locke gave up two runs and struck out six in seven innings, and Gregory Polanco hit a homer and a triple Thursday as the Pittsburgh Pirates won for the fourth time in their past five games, 8-2 over the Atlanta Braves.
Locke raised his record to 2-3. Starling Marte, in his first game back from paternity leave, drove in two runs for Pittsburgh.
Right-hander Wilfredo Boscan, making his major league debut, gave up a single and struck out two in pitching the final two innings for the Pirates.
Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz (1-2), facing Pittsburgh for the first time, gave up four earned runs, five total, on seven hits in three innings.
Jeff Francoeur was 3-for-4, including a solo home run in the sixth that pulled the Braves to within 6-2. It was Atlanta’s sixth homer of the four-game series after entering the series with just nine, but that didn’t stop the Pirates from taking three of the four.
Pittsburgh scored twice in the first. John Jaso led off with a single to left. Two outs later, Jung Ho Kang was hit on the back of the knee with a Foltynewicz pitch. Kang and Jaso advanced on a passed ball and scored on Marte’s bloop single to right for a 2-0 lead.
The Pirates added three runs in the second with another a two-out rally.
After Chris Stewart and Locke grounded out, Jaso tripled to the right-center field wall and Andrew McCutchen drove in Jaso with a single to right to make it 3-0. That gave McCutchen 612 career hits at PNC Park, tying him with Jack Wilson for the most in the ballpark’s history.
Polanco’s homer to left stretched Pittsburgh’s lead to 5-0.
The Braves got back-to-back doubles by Jeff Francoeur and Tyler Flyers to lead off the fourth, pulling Atlanta within 5-1. The Braves have at least one double in 11 straight games.
Polanco led off the Pirates’ fifth with a triple off the right-field wall and scored on Kang’s sacrifice fly to left for a 6-1 lead.
NOTES: SS Erick Aybar was scheduled to be in the Atlanta lineup but got a chicken bone lodged in his throat earlier in the day. A doctor sedated him and removed it. Daniel Castro started at short instead. … Braves OF Ender Inciarte was given the day off and was not in the starting lineup. … In Atlanta’s 3-1 win on Wednesday, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker, 62, who is in his 40th season with the organization, became the first manager age 60-plus to get his first major league win since Bobby Mattick did so for Toronto in 1980 at 64. … Atlanta played the seventh game of a 10-game road trip. It had stops in Kansas City and Pittsburgh before a weekend series at Philadelphia starts Friday. … With OF Starling Marte back from the paternity list, Pittsburgh optioned INF Alen Hanson to Triple-A Indianapolis. … The Pirates also brought up RHP Wilfredo Boscan from Indianapolis and optioned LHP Cory Luebke to Triple-A. … Pittsburgh C Elias Diaz (elbow) was transferred from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL. … The U.S. Open trophy was on display in the Pirates’ clubhouse before the game. Several players posed for pictures with it. The major golf tournament will be played next month at Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh.