ATLANTA _ There was no sweat under the midday Georgia sun.
Right-hander Ivan Nova pitched into the ninth inning Thursday, falling two outs shy of his sixth complete game in 21 starts for the Pirates, and the team received contributions up and down the batting order as it defeated the Atlanta Braves, 9-4, to split a four-game series at SunTrust Park.
"We earned a split here," manager Clint Hurdle said. "This thing could have gone the other way. Our guys battled. Our guys played with grit and guts."
After scoring seven runs in the 10th inning Wednesday, the Pirates (22-26) jumped in front with a five-run second inning against right-hander Bartolo Colon and added two apiece in the fifth and ninth. Adam Frazier hit his second three-run home run in as many games. Francisco Cervelli tied a career-high with four hits. Josh Harrison, batting .304, had three hits and a walk.
"You could tell we kind of picked up where we left off in the 10th inning last night," Harrison said. "It's good to have a day like that."
The Pirates tallied 18 runs in the last 11 innings against Atlanta. Jordy Mercer singled, doubled and walked Thursday, bringing him to 9 for 17 (.529) with two homers and six RBIs in the series. Frazier, a native of Athens, Ga., is batting .417 this month, and Cervelli isn't far behind at .328.
"A few more games here might not be a bad thing for us," Frazier said, with a grin.
Nova (5-3) carried a shutout into the seventh but labored in the late innings. He was charged with four runs on 10 hits and was lifted after 81/3 innings. Despite spending just 67 pitches through seven innings, Nova was at 100 pitches when he was replaced by reliever Jhan Marinez. Afterward, Nova was bothered he was unable to put the game away in the ninth.
"The game almost got away from me," he said. "That can't happen."
Earlier in the series, Nova wasn't sure he'd start Thursday. He tweaked his left knee while fielding a bunt Saturday and received treatment this week, skipping his regular bullpen session. Nova said he told pitching coach Ray Searage a trip to the disabled list was unnecessary, and adrenaline kicked in once he got on the mound. Nova iced his knee before and after the game.
"He's not going to get off the mound," Cervelli said of Nova.
Nova, who entered only one three-ball count, walked one and struck out one. He motored until the seventh inning, throwing between six and 12 pitches in each of the first six frames. The Braves caught up in the seventh, scoring the first of their four runs. Nova felt batters eventually adjusted to his approach, and he failed to answer the further he advanced in the outing.
Hurdle countered, "He gave us the start we needed on the day we needed it."
Colon (2-5), whose birthday was Wednesday, was the first Braves pitcher to start at 44 since right-hander Dennis Martinez in 1998. Colon's career outlived the Braves' previous ballpark. He debuted for the Cleveland Indians at Anaheim Stadium on April 4, 1997, the same day Turner Park opened in Atlanta. Twenty years later, Colon continues, and Turner Field is empty.
"He's been around a while," said Frazier, 25. "That means he knows what he's doing."
The Pirates brought no birthday gift.
After back-to-back singles in the second, they set the table with small ball, as Mercer and Gift Ngoepe struck run-scoring infield singles. Two were aboard for Frazier. In a way, he was due. He entered Thursday batting .561 in day games this season, and he had grounded out earlier. Frazier smacked an 0-1 fastball into the right-field bleachers for his third home run this season.
Mercer swatted a two-run double in the fifth, and Cervelli tacked on two more with a bases-loaded single in the ninth. The Pirates were 5 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
"That's the way you want to play the game," Hurdle said. "It's about community. Everybody needs to put something in."
