Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Pirates manager Jim Tracy argues with second base umpire Dana Demuth about possible runner's interference, after Jose Bautista and the Braves' Chipper Jones collided in the fourth inning last night.

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Here comes the boom, indeed.

Mike Gonzalez made a striking return to PNC Park with a three-batter save, and the Atlanta Braves got back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning from Andruw Jones and Jeff Francouer to beat down the Pirates, 4-1, last night.

"That's what this team can do," Gonzalez said. "There are a lot of guys who can hurt you."

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Mike Gonzalez hugs teammate Brian McCann after getting a save last night in his first game against the Pirates since being traded in the offseason. Click photo for larger image. Today Game: Pirates (RHP Tony Armas 0-2, 7.94) vs. Atlanta Braves (LHP Chuck James 3-3, 4.84), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park. Radio: WPGB-FM (104.7). Key matchup: Pirates vs. a lefty. For all their offensive woes, their .263 average against left-handers ranks sixth in the National League. And no one on the roster is better so far than Xavier Nady, 7 for 15 with a double. Of note: The Braves went 72 innings without a home run -- their longest such drought since 1983 -- until Andruw Jones and Jeff Francouer went deep on consecutive pitches in the sixth inning last night. Related articles Pirates Notebook: Castillo requests trade Josh Gibson shoes, shirts finally make local showing

It would seem nothing could hurt the Pirates more than to have their big January trade, the Adam LaRoche-for-Gonzalez deal that has produced such terribly lopsided results in the early going, play out on the home stage.

But that is precisely what materialized in the ninth.

Atlanta was up by three when the bullpen gate - the visitors' bullpen - swung open for No. 51. This time, unlike when he went 24 for 24 in saves for the Pirates last year, there was none of P.O.D.'s "Boom," thrashing through the speakers, and the crowd of 23,376 applauded only politely.

But that apparently did little to lessen Gonzalez's pulse.

"Oh, man, it felt good," he said. "The fans around the bullpen were so cool to me all night, and that had me ready."

Braves manager Bobby Cox insisted Gonzalez was not summoned because he was facing the Pirates, even though Gonzalez had one previous save opportunity in injured closer Bob Wickman's absence.

"Just his turn," Cox said, referring to a rotation of Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano.

Might he have worried that Gonzalez would be too emotional?

"Aw, he's always fired up," Cox said. "He's fired up in Pittsburgh, Selma, A-ball ... wherever."

It showed on Gonzalez's first pitch, a sailing fastball to Xavier Nady. He would walk him.

"I had to tone it down," he said.

Within that frame of mind, LaRoche came up next.

"I didn't even think about that," Gonzalez said of the trade matchup. "But yeah, that was him on the double play, huh?"

It was. LaRoche dug a familiar 0-2 hole, took a high fastball, then bounced into a 4-6-3.

"It's a situation where I can't tie it up with one swing, and he just walked the leadoff guy, so I want to make him throw some strikes," LaRoche said. "And, of course, he's going to throw the first one right down the middle. Then, he dropped a couple sliders on me."

From there, Ronny Paulino stepped to the box and, after reminding Gonzalez to tuck away that gold chain - "I was going to pop him," Gonzalez said with a laugh - struck out swinging.

Gonzalez had his second save, his ERA was lowered to an Atlanta-best 1.10, and he extended his string of scoreless outings to 14.

"He's obviously done well," LaRoche said.

In dramatic contrast, LaRoche's average fell to .165 after going 0 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly that produced the Pirates' only run.

Even with that RBI, LaRoche felt he came up short.

That came in the fourth inning, when three singles loaded the bases with nobody out against Atlanta starter Kyle Davies. LaRoche got just under a Davies changeup and lofted it to center field.

"Wish I could have that pitch back," LaRoche said.

Paulino grounded into a double play, and that was it for the night.

The Pirates had two hits the rest of the way, marking their 18th game of three or fewer runs. And, on another continuing theme, Davies, owner of a 5.35 ERA, lasted seven strong innings for his finest outing of the season.

Manager Jim Tracy went with the same lineup as the series finale in Chicago, with Ryan Doumit at cleanup, Chris Duffy on the bench and Nady in center field.

"When Ryan Doumit is hitting .442, you have to play the guy," Tracy said.

Doumit did his part, pushing his hitting streak to 11 by going 2 for 4 with a double. So did the man before him, Jason Bay, by reaching base all four times up.

	Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Xavier Nady hits the wall and can't hold on to a ball hit by Chipper Jones, which started the Braves' four-run rally in the sixth inning last night at PNC Park. Click photo for larger image.

But it made little difference, especially once Atlanta's bats began reverberating.

Pirates starter Zach Duke had allowed only four hits through five innings and got two quick outs in the sixth.

Then ...

Chipper Jones drove a changeup, down and away, to deep center. Nady nearly made an exceptional catch, but he crashed into the padded fence with great force a split-second later, and the ball popped loose for a double.

What body part hit first?

"I think my head," Nady said.

It went from bang-bang to boom-boom.

Andruw Jones drilled a 1-0 pitch into the visitors' bullpen for a 2-1 lead, no small feat on a sinker away.

Next pitch was a 90-mph fastball that Francouer lifted into the left-field bleachers.

"Those guys are strong and, for anyone to hit pitches like that, it's something you don't see a lot," Duke said of the shots by the Joneses. "But the one to Francouer was right down the middle."

Two more solidly struck hits, and Duke was out. Jonah Bayliss relieved and gave up Scott Thorman's RBI double to put the Braves ahead, 4-1.

Duke was charged with all of those runs over 5 2/3 innings in falling to 1-4 with a 5.61 ERA.

"It's frustrating because I thought I was throwing well," he said.

The Pirates have lost nine of their past 13 games.