James McDonald pitched five-plus shutout innings and struck out nine as the Pittsburgh Pirates posted a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday at Turner Field.

McDonald (7-4) allowed eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, but was helped by his team’s defense, which turned two double plays. McDonald has now allowed only two runs with 15 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings against Atlanta this season.

Joel Hanrahan pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 29th save of the season.

Tim Hudson (9-7) allowed only five hits, but each of the three batters he walked came around to score. Hudson struck out eight in seven innings.

Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones was playing his first game since being activated from the disabled list following knee surgery. He hit his ninth home run in the eighth inning, but left the game after he apparently tweaked his sore knee on the swing.

The game began 2 hours and 2 minutes after it was scheduled because of a thunderstorm that blew through the downtown Atlanta area.