Pirates win 6-2 over Cubs; Win 5 of 7 in Cubs/Brewers home stand

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won 9 of their last 13 and more importantly won 5 of the 7 games they played this week against the Brewers and Cubs, the 1st and 2nd place teams in the NL Central Division. They gained 3 games this week in the standings, they are 40-48 and 9 games back of Milwaukee who is lost to the Nationals 7-2. Today newcomer Shane Youman(2-0, 3.00ERA) got the start and pitched well in Zach Duke's spot going 6 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits. Jason Bay was the star at the plate going 2 for 4 with a home run(13) and 4 RBI's(56). He hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 3rd off Carlos Zambrano(10-7) and added a 2 insurance runs with a single in the 8th. The All-Star game is Tuesday and the Pirates play next, Friday, against the Atlanta Braves.