Thomas' catch gave Braves chance for win

PITTSBURGH - Rafael Furcal's tie-breaking single in the ninth won Thursday afternoon's game for the Atlanta Braves, but it was left fielder Charles Thomas' diving catch eight innings before that was the talk of the clubhouse afterward.

"Don't forget to give Charles a save in that game," pitching coach Leo Mazzone said. "He won it in the first with that catch."

In the first, the Pirates had runners on first and third and no out when Rob Mackowiak sent a liner toward the left-center gap. Thomas - who made a diving attempt at Mackowiak's triple Wednesday night and came up empty - raced across the grass and made an outstanding catch, scrambled to his feet, and made a perfect throw to Furcal, whose relay peg doubled Jack Wilson off first base.

"I wasn't sure I could make the catch when the ball left the bat," Thomas said. "I kind of took a deeper route than I did (Wednesday night) and thought I had a shot at it. Yesterday I didn't catch it, but today, fortunately, I did."

Braves starter John Thomson might not have survived the first without Thomas' effort.

ON THE MEND: Horacio Ramirez reported diminished pain Thursday morning in his left scapula after throwing 40-50 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday, his first workout from a mound in several weeks

The left-hander, on the disabled list since May 26, will return to the mound this afternoon to test it again.

"Every time I go out there I'll put a little more effort on it," he said.

"I'm moving forward with small steps. Sometimes I get impatient and want to take big steps."

Whether Ramirez is actually improving will be answered today. Three weeks ago he tried throwing twice in three days and pain behind his shoulder blade forced him to stop.

"He's usually been able to throw," pitching coach Leo Mazzone said, "but the rebound hasn't been good. We'll find out tomorrow."

short hops: With Marcus Giles given the day off, Thomas moved into the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Thomas, a .256 hitter with the bases empty, is batting .488 (20-for-41) with runners on base and .450 (9-for-20) with runners in scoring position. ... Andruw Jones, who had started 98 of the team's first 100 games, was also given the day off. J.D. Drew moved over to play center and Eli Marrero played right. ... Russ Ortiz, who won Wednesday night's 1-0 game over the Pirates, posted a 5-0 record and 1.88 in July, making him an easy choice for Pitcher of the Month honors. ... The Braves are 7-0-2 in their last nine series, a streak that dates back to June 24, when they dropped two of three to the Marlins.

Reach Bill Zack at BZack30143@aol.com.