Neil Walker's two-run home run, a strong emergency start from Brian Burres, and some tightrope bullpen work lifted the Pirates past the first-place Atlanta Braves, 3-1, this afternoon before 15,330 at PNC Park.

Walker broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth by lining Tommy Hanson's 1-0 fastball into the center-field landscaping, this right after Jose Tabata had opened the inning with a single.

It was Walker's 10th home run and it extended his hitting streak to 13 games, longest on the team this season. During the streak, he is batting .403 -- 23 for 57 -- with five home runs, five doubles, two triples and 16 RBIs.

Burres, taking the place of injured Jeff Karstens in the rotation, held Atlanta to one run and five hits over six innings, pinpointing his fastball and sinker and getting several broken bats. Most impressive, with two aboard and two outs in the sixth, he stayed in the game after a visit from manager John Russell -- a rarity in Russell's tenure -- then got a groundout from Alex Gonzalez.

The Braves applied more pressure in the seventh against reliever Chris Resop, loading the bases after two outs. But third baseman Pedro Alvarez made a terrific play to retire Martin Prado after a check-swing roller up the line to protect the 3-1 lead.

Evan Meek, back on the mound for the first time since his hand was bruised by a line drive Aug. 29, pitched a scoreless eighth. He, too, had to escape trouble in stranding runners at second and third by getting Nate McLouth to ground out.

Joel Hanrahan came on for the ninth and recorded his fourth save.

Atlanta remained one game ahead of Philadelphia for the East Division lead, as the Phillies lost, 7-1, to Florida.

Andrew McCutchen manufactured a run in the Pirates' first with a walk, steal, an advance on the catcher's throwing error and a sprint home on Tabata's groundout.

Atlanta got that run back in the second, but there could have been much more: The Braves had bases loaded with nobody out, and Burres limited the damage to a David Ross sacrifice fly.

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