The Pirates got an unexpected win on a day in which injuries forced them to start fringe prospect Aaron Thompson against a team, the Milwaukee Brewers, that has owned them.
Amazingly, they also picked up that win on a day in which they only had four hits. Both the Pirates' two runs came via sacrifice flies. The Brewers, however, had only five hits of their own, and went scoreless.
Thompson, who was making his big-league debut, has spent most of the season struggling against Class AA hitters, got through 4.1 innings, striking out one and walking two. He was replaced by Jason Grilli, who struck out four Brewers en route to 2.2 scoreless innings.
The Pirates then turned to Jose Veras and Joel Hanrahan, who each pitched scoreless frames. Hanrahan's inning, which featured three strikeouts, was especially encouraging, given his poor pitching recently.
Jose Tabata and Josh Harrison doubled for the Pirates.
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.