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ATLANTA (AP) -- Greg Maddux dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates once again. Maddux pitched a seven-hitter for his ninth consecutive victory over Pittsburgh, and Rafael Furcal had a run-scoring double in the eighth as the Atlanta Braves beat the Pirates 1-0 Friday night. Maddux (4-4), who struck out six and walked two in his second shutout of the season and 33rd of his career, hasn't lost to Pittsburgh in 13 starts since April 30, 1994. The four-time National League Cy Young winner is 19-13 overall against the Pirates. "It's just runs," said Maddux. "I looked at the tape of my last game against them and I think we won 8-6. Runs make you win." True. But despite what the Atlanta right-hander said, he lowered his ERA to 1.59 in 96 2/3 innings against the Pirates during that 13-game stretch. The hard-luck loser was Todd Ritchie (0-6), who gave up only five hits. The Pirates, who have lost four in a row, are 0-10 in Ritchie's 10 starts this season. "I felt good. I had it. I was right there. All my pitches were working," Ritchie said. "I had a good outing, but not much to show for it. It's a tough one to take." "It's part of the game," said Maddux. "Obviously things haven't gone his way this year. Look at tonight." Ritchie was working on a three-hit shutout with two outs in the eighth when Quilvio Veras singled to left and stole second. Furcal followed with a double to the wall in left-center. "I tried to come in on him (Furcal), but the ball tailed back over the plate," Ritchie said. "It was a pitch over the middle, something I could hit easy," said Furcal. "He made a mistake." The Pirates, who have lost nine of 11 and 13 of 16, had a scoring opportunity in the eighth, but had two runners thrown out trying to steal. Jason Kendall opened the inning with a single, but was thrown out by Paul Baco. John VanderWal and Aramis Ramirez followed with singles, but Brian Giles was called out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch, and VanderWal was thrown out trying to steal third. The Pirates, who have the worst road record in the majors, lost for the 13th time in 14 games away from home and are 6-21 overall on the road. Game notesBraves third baseman Chipper Jones was scratched from the starting lineup due to flu-like symptoms. He pinch hit in the eighth and flied out to right. ... Maddux has 101 career complete games. ... Atlanta left fielder B.J. Surhoff missed his fifth consecutive game because of lower back muscle spasms. ... Kendall, Pittsburgh's regular catcher, made his second career start in left field and made a diving catch of leadoff hitter Quilvio Veras' foul drive in the corner. ... The Pirates' Brian Giles extended his hitting streak to nine games with a first-inning single. Giles had gone 36 at-bats without striking out before being called out on strikes in the eighth.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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