By his estimation, Chris Archer has thrown “thousands and thousands” of pitches in his 196 major-league starts.

Hard to believe, but the first one he threw Friday night at PNC Park stands out among most of the rest. At least, it did while Archer was leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 9-4 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Lorenzo Cain led off the game with a sharp grounder toward the hole at shortstop. The ball was clocked at 104.2 mph by baseballsavant.com. Some home runs aren’t hit that hard.

Off the bat, it looked like a single, but Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman covered enough ground fast enough to get to the ball, secure it in his glove, leap into the air, turn and fire a strike to first baseman Josh Bell for the out.

Suddenly, everything changed for Archer, who was 0-5 while allowing 24 runs in his previous five starts. He needed only four more pitches to finish the inning.

“I felt like with that play a tide turned for me,” he said. “All of a sudden, the game was fun again.

“When you go through some (rough) moments, just like in life, you forget to be present, to enjoy. From the first pitch on, I enjoyed the whole outing.”

The result was his first victory since April 7, his second seven-inning outing and, perhaps, an unspoken message to anyone who doubted him: `See, people, I told you I can do this.’

No doubt, there were some doubters in the crowd of 28,465.

“I’ve been doing it for such a long time. It hasn’t all been glitz and glamour,” said Archer, a big-leaguer since 2012. “There’s an ebb and flow to a season, to a career. Three or four starts (are) never going to get me down.”

In the end, however, it was only one game and Archer and the other Pirates starters need to stack good outings to build on the team’s 28-28 record.

“I want to do better and be better,” Archer said. “I’m relentless and I’m not going to stop until I get the results I’m looking for. I know what I’m capable of.”

From the outset Friday, Clint Hurdle noticed something special about Archer.

“He came out, the body was fresh and live. There was some energy, some edge,” the Pirates manager said.

Hurdle’s analytics told him Archer threw 50 fastballs (35 strikes) among his 92 pitches, getting nine batters on three or fewer. Catcher Jacob Stallings said Archer put five pitches to good use – the 4-seam and 2-seam fastballs, curveball, slider and changeup.

“He was lettin’ it rip,” Hurdle said. “Got them looking for fastballs, which set up the changeup which he used extremely well.

“The game can be hard and sometimes you get caught in some vacuums that take you a little longer to get out of. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have.”

Archer said he enjoyed the game, even when Jesus Aguilar, hitting .189, homered to lead off the third and Keston Huira hit a three-run shot in the fourth to turn a 7-1 Pirates lead to 7-4.

“He knew he had good stuff. I don’t think that really tilted it,” Hurdle said.

Added Archer: “Even when it got a little shaky, I enjoyed the whole thing.”

Archer had the benefit of a 13-hit Pirates attack – all singles – and a six-run third inning when Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin walked four batters, three with the bases loaded.

No one seemed to mind that there were no extra-base hits.

“There’s no drive-thru where you can go up there and order,” Hurdle said. “You take what you get. We have some guys who are trending up with their swings, doing some good damage.”

Seven of the nine starters hit safely, including five who had two or more. Starling Marte was 3 for 5.

“Marte is one of those guys, when he goes, he has a tendency to bring some people with him,” Hurdle said.

What’s most impressive is that the Pirates left PNC Park with three players hitting above .340 – Bryan Reynolds (.345), Josh Bell (.343) and Newman (.341), who’s staking a claim to his position in the field and in the leadoff spot in the order.

“It helped we had seven runs on the board,” Archer said. “I didn’t feel like I had to be too fine.”

Contrary to what people might think, Archer said he “didn’t need” a good performance to validate his faith in what he can do.

“My confidence was never wavering,” he said. “Nobody’s going to be perfect. Sometimes, the game doesn’t go your way.

“If you allow it to overwhelm you, it will. Since I’ve done this, it’s not going to overwhelm me. It’s not.”

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