Pittsburgh is currently 40-48 in fourth place in the NL Central, nine games behind Milwaukee.
Sanchez, last year's NL batting champ, leads Pittsburgh with a .296 average to go with 96 hits, 33 runs and 20 doubles.
Jason Hirsh (St. Francis, 2001) Colorado Rockies starting pitcher: Hirsh emerges from the break on the disabled list.
He was placed there July 3 after spraining his ankle on the basepaths in a 6-2 win against the Mets the day before.
Hirsh threw six scoreless innings for the win and notched his first multi-hit game ever, going two for three with two runs batted in.
Previously, he'd allowed five earned runs in each of his last three starts.
He owns a 4.90 earned-run average and a 4-7 record.
The good news is Hirsh looks to only miss one start after X-rays showed no breaks and just a sprain.
"All good news," Hirsh told mlb.com. "I'm walking around. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did yesterday so that's always good."
The Rockies are 44-44 and in fourth place in the NL West.
Hirsh is one of three St. Francis alums currently in the bigs.
Toronto Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun and Houston Astros infielder Mark Loretta are the other two. Zaun is currently hitting .240 for the second-place Jays, who play today at Boston, while Loretta is hitting .317 as the Astros begin a nine-game roadtrip in Chicago today.
GRANT GORDON covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3225 or by e-mail at grant.gordon@latimes.com.Freddy Sanchez (Glendale Community College) Pittsburgh Pirates infielder: With the bases loaded and the National League trailing the American League, 5-4, in the Major League All-Star Game, Sanchez was just an at bat away from center stage.
