Brandon Morrow recorded 10 strikeouts as the Blue Jays edged the Pirates 2-1 in Toronto Wednesday night.
The Pirates could do little against Morrow offensively, and did not help their own cause by running into outs on the bases - in particular, Matt Diaz's baserunning blunder in the fifth, in which he got caught between second and third on Ronny Cedeno's RBI single, helped cost the Pirates a chance at a big inning.
Paul Maholm got through seven innings for the Bucs, but only struck out one and left a few breaking balls up in the zone for Blue Jays hitters to hammer. The Jays picked up one run in the sixth on Eric Thames' solo homer, then another in the seventh on an RBI double by Yunel Escobar.
Frank Francisco picked up the save for the Jays.
The Pirates and Jays will complete their series Thursday night at 7:07 PM. Their record now stands at 40-39.