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Pirates Vs. Blue Jays: Bucs Escape Interleague Play With A Winning Record

Jeff Karstens did what he does - throwing strikes and keeping runs off the board - and Brandon Wood hit a two-run homer in the Pirates' 6-2 win over the Jays Thursday.

Karstens allowed two solo homers - to J.P. Arencibia and Yunel Escobar - in the fifth inning, but only allowed three additional hits and one walk over seven innings. 64 of his 88 pitches went for strikes.

Meanwhile, newcomer Alex Presley led off the game with a triple and later scored on an Andrew McCutchen groundout. Presley also scored Josh Harrison on a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Lyle Overbay hit a fly ball to shallow right field in the sixth that the Jays failed to field, and wound up at third base after a bad throw. Ronny Cedeno brought him home with a double, and then Wood hit a two-run bomb. Matt Diaz contributed an RBI single in the seventh.

The victory concluded interleague play for the Pirates, who wound up with an 8-7 record, far better than their typical awful interleague performance. The Bucs are now 41-39, and will begin a road series against the Washington Nationals on Friday.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.