Joe Musgrove did something a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher hadn’t done in quite some time Wednesday night.

He left the mound to a rousing ovation from the home crowd.

The 6-foot-5 right-hander pitched into the ninth inning, allowing five hits and striking out six, to lead the Pirates to a 7-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park.

The game was delayed about two hours by the threat of thunderstorms. Announced attendance was 13,904.

“I feel like this is something I can build on and turn my season around,” said Musgrove, who improved to 4-6 with a 4.44 ERA.

Musgrove said his game plan was to use his fastball liberally the first time through the Braves lineup, then mix in breaking pitches later in the game. The results showed his plan worked.

Musgrove gave up a run in the second when Josh Donaldson doubled and Austin Riley singled him in. From the fourth through the eighth, though, he retired the Braves in order five straight innings. He struck out the side in the sixth, setting down Ronald Acuna Jr., Dansby Swanson and Freddie Freeman.

“Any athlete will tell you. You hit that point in the game where you get in the zone and there’s not really any stopping you,” Musgrove said. “You’re not really thinking about anything. You’re seeing the glove and throwing to it.”

Musgrove’s bid for a first career complete game ended when he gave up back-to-back solo shots to Acuna and Swanson to lead off the ninth. Felipe Vazquez walked Freeman and gave up an RBI double to Nick Markakis, but managed to get the last three outs.

Manager Clint Hurdle noted that left-handed Braves batters went 0 for 13 with a walk against Musgrove. He wasn’t even displeased with the long balls in the ninth.

“He threw strikes and they put good swings on them. They’re capable of doing that,” Hurdle said. “They’re also capable of getting shut down for eight innings. There’s been some games where good pitching stops good hitting, no matter who the lineup is. Joe was a good pitcher tonight.”

Musgrove’s outing was a needed shot in the arm for a pitching staff that allowed double-digit runs in six of their previous 12 games and had the third-worst starter ERA in the National League.

“We needed a start like that. He went out and gave us one,” Hurdle said. “Super strong effort.”

Even while the Pirates were struggling on the mound, losing 11 of their 15 previous games, their bats hadn’t been a problem. They’ve scored 67 runs in their last 11 games. Coming into Wednesday night, they had the third-most runs scored in the NL since May 1.

That didn’t change against the Braves.

Elias Diaz and Colin Moran homered and Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco had three hits apiece for the Pirates, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Musgrove also had a pair of base hits.

For Marte, it was the continuation of a hot streak. He’s hitting .437 over his past eight games.

For Polanco, it was a bounceback effort. He was 5 for 33 in his previous nine games and was dropped to sixth in the lineup.

“We need them in play, there’s no doubt,” Hurdle said. “You need your good players to play well. They’re both working hard.”

The key inning for the Pirates was the second. Diaz hit his first home run of the year, driving a 3-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers to make it 2-1. Then, with two outs and nobody on, Musgrove started a run of five consecutive base hits off losing pitcher Kevin Gausman.

By the time Kevin Newman, Bryan Reynolds and Marte singled and Josh Bell doubled, it was 5-1.

The Pirates made it 7-1 on consecutive doubles by Moran and Polanco in the third and a Moran solo shot in the fifth.

“I feel like we’re rolling pretty good offensively,” Moran said. “It’s kind of contagious, I think. When you watch each at-bat, guys are grinding it out, you can see that and feel that and just kind of keep the line moving.”

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