By NOAH HILES

PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE

PITTSBURGH (TNS) — The starting rotation has been the lone bright spot for the Pirates this season. On Wednesday evening, it was Mike Burrows’ turn to join in on the fun. Following a pair of shaky outings to start his major league season, the 25-year-old righthander flashed his potential against the Astros, tossing 5 1/3 innings of scoreless ball to lead the Pirates to a 3-0 victory at PNC Park.

Burrows improved to 1-2 with the win. It marked his first big league victory as a starter and second overall in his career, with the first coming last season in his MLB debut when he pitched three innings of relief against the Yankees. Astros starter Ryan Gusto was the losing pitcher, dropping to 3-3 on the season.

The Pirates jumped ahead in the bottom of the second inning. Tommy Pham and Endy Rodriguez led off the frame with back-to-back hits and both came around to score, the former on a grounder to short from Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the latter on a sacrifice fly to left field from Andrew McCutchen. Pittsburgh added another run to its total the next inning when Spencer Horwitz scored on a double-play ball hit by Adam Frazier, making the score 3-0.

Burrows remained steady with the lead, preventing any Astro from advancing past second base during his time on the mound. His workday came to an end with a runner on second and two outs remaining in the sixth inning. Chase Shugart replaced Burrows, successfully finishing the frame without allowing the runner in scoring position to score. In the end, Burrows allowed just five hits, walked none and struck out six, the best performance of his young big league career.

The Pirates bullpen held strong for the remainder of the contest, shutting out an Astros team that did the same to their lineup the night prior. The shutout victory marked Pittsburgh’s seventh of the year. David Bednar earned the save, his seventh of the season.

IT WAS OVER WHEN …

Shugart recorded the final two outs in the top of the sixth, getting Christian Walker swinging and Yainer Diaz to ground out to third base.

ON THE MOUND Burrows wasn’t the only right-handed rookie who had a solid outing for the Pirates on Wednesday evening.

Following Shugart’s 2/3 innings of relief, Braxton Ashcraft took over on the mound, tossing a pair of scoreless frames that bridged the gap to Bednar. Ashcraft has now thrown six major league innings, having three hits, one walk and no runs while striking out six.

AT THE PLATE Oneil Cruz and Horwitz both provided multi-hit efforts. The Pirates tallied eight hits total, one more than the Astros. However, they still failed to capitalize on scoring chances, going just 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Burrows, who tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his first win as a major league starter.

UP NEXT The Pirates conclude their three-game series against the Astros on Thursday at PNC Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Mitch Keller (1-7, 3.73) will face Framber Valdez (5-4, 3.12) on the mound.