Article: Pirates whip Astros, snap 3-game skid

Give this to the Pirates -- they keep you guessing.

One day after being shackled by a 37-year-old right-hander who allows nearly a run an inning, the Pirates knocked around the pitcher with the second-best ERA in baseball.

Go figure.

The Pirates held off a late scare and beat the Astros and 1.71- ERA-toting Wandy Rodriguez, 7-4, on Saturday night in front of a sellout Skyblast crowd at PNC Park.

"We were ready to swing the bat," said Andy LaRoche, who went 2 for 4. "We weren't going to wait around until we got two strikes. We wanted to jump on him early."

Jeff Karstens (2-2) won for the first time since April 21. He pitched seven innings, his longest outing of the season. He allowed two runs ...

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