The question was put to Atlanta manager Bobby Cox this way: What do you think of the Pirates' bullpen?

"Outstanding," came the answer, without hesitation. "They've got one of the best, it looks to me."

Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Starting pitcher Shawn Chacon earned a win in his first appearance for the Pirates, beating the Braves yesterday at PNC Park. Chacon gave up one run on three hits in five innings. Click photo for larger image. Looking ahead Today: Pirates (Tom Gorzelanny, 1-2) vs. Chicago Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 12-3), 2:20 p.m. Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh, KDKA-AM (1020), Pirates Radio Network Related articles Hot-hitting shortstop among Latin American signees Pirates Notebook: Wilson shrugs off calf injury Scouting Report: Chicago Cubs Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic

Placed in the proper context, it is a difficult point to dispute. But that context is not always easy to establish.

Take, for example, the Pirates' 3-2 edging of the Braves yesterday before 17,324 at PNC Park.

Shawn Chacon, freshly acquired from the New York Yankees, gave up one run in five strong innings, and the offense had mustered only two runs when the game was turned over to the bullpen in the sixth.

Not much cushion there, plus four innings to cover.

But, when viewed within the scope of the past two weeks, the relievers had plenty in the tank. And that, of course, was because the starters had pitched into the seventh or beyond in the previous six games.

"That's the key," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "When our bullpen is used properly, not spread out over a bunch of innings, that's when you see what it can do."

And so, it did ...

John Grabow retired the six batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings for his 12th consecutive scoreless outing.

Matt Capps, the bullpen's finest to this point, had a rare sputter in giving up two doubles in the eighth that allowed Atlanta to pull within 3-2.

No matter.

With a man on second and one out, Tracy summoned Damaso Marte to go lefty-on-lefty against Brian McCann, and Marte struck him out on three pitches, the last of those a 96-mph fastball.

"A little extra," Marte said.

Tracy turned to Salomon Torres for the right-handed Jeff Francouer, and Torres needed one pitch -- a split-fingered fastball -- to draw an inning-ending popup.

"Everybody always thinks sinker with me," Torres said. "This was a new flavor."

Finally, Mike Gonzalez went 1-2-3 in the ninth, striking out Scott Thorman and Ryan Langerhans before getting Matt Diaz to ground out for a 19th save in as many chances.

As a unit, the bullpen has given up three earned runs in its past 19 2/3 innings in seven games.

Best in the National League?

"Come on, man, look at what we've got going," Gonzalez said when asked. "We don't just have a couple specialists out there. Grabow gave us two strong innings. He and Marte are two of the best lefties anywhere. Capps is a strike machine. Torres brings it. All these guys do."

But best in the league?

"I think we're one of them," Grabow said.

"Maybe," Marte said. "And remember, it's young, too. It's going to get better."

Torres, informed of Cox's postgame assessment, did not argue.

"It's very flattering coming from one of the best managers in the game," he said, just before grinning. "And, you know, I think he knows what he's talking about."

The numbers firmly point to the New York Mets' bullpen as the best, given its league-low 3.28 ERA despite working a league-high 362 innings.

Still, the Pirates stack up well. Despite being the league's fourth-busiest bullpen with 350 1/3 innings, their 3.85 ERA is fourth lowest, and they are the dominant reason that the team, despite its 41-68 overall record, is 31-12 when leading after six innings, 32-3 when leading after seven, 34-1 when leading after eight.

The lead being protected yesterday came courtesy of Chacon and third baseman Joe Randa.

Chacon shook off a month of rust, not having started for the New York Yankees since July 6, to limit Atlanta to three hits and four walks in his five innings. He had predicted he could throw no more than 80 pitches, and he threw 79.

"I was surprised," Tracy said. "I was a little concerned early on, and I wondered how he was going to rectify it. But he settled down quite a bit."

Chacon gave up a run in the opening inning on consecutive doubles, then walked his first two batters of the second. But, after a bunt advanced each runner, he got Willy Aybar to pop up and struck out Marcus Giles.

"I was expecting a little rust, and my command was nowhere near where I'd like," Chacon said. "But I'm satisfied with how it turned out."

Randa, hitting at a .371 clip since coming off the disabled list June 13, had two run-producing hits.

He followed Jason Bay's RBI single in the first with a two-out, two-strike RBI double to right to put the Pirates ahead, 2-1. In the sixth, his single up the middle brought home Freddy Sanchez for a 3-1 lead.

Randa has had plenty of streaks in his career, but never, he acknowledged, one in which he starts every fifth or sixth day.

"Yeah, it's strange, but it's also very gratifying," he said. "I haven't felt sorry for myself. I've taken it as a challenge."

The Pirates avoided a three-game sweep by Atlanta and completed a 4-2 homestand.