The Pirates were shut out by the Arizona Diamondbacks Thursday in their bid to inch themselves over .500.
The game began as an odd pitcher's duel between Jeff Karstens and Josh Collmenter, as Karstens moved efficiently from inning to inning despite allowing a number of hard-hit balls and Collmenter put up one zero after another despite throwing way too many pitches. In the end, Karstens had seven scoreless innings, Collmenter five.
Chris Resop relieved Karstens in the eighth, however, and allowed an infield single by Micah Owings and a two-run bomb by Chris Young. That proved to be decisive, as the Diamondbacks won 2-0. The Pirates managed just five hits, all singles.
A win would have put the Pirates above .500 in mid-June, a real accomplishment for a team with 18 straight losing seasons. Instead, they'll take another shot at .500 as the New York Mets visit for a four-game series that begins Friday.