CINCINNATI --Oliver Perez continued his success against the Cincinnati Reds and got plenty of support from a balanced offense, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-4 victory last night that snapped a four-game losing streak.
Daryle Ward and Matt Lawton hit home runs and Rob Mackowiak drove in three runs as the Pirates won for the seventh time in their last 10 games in Cincinnati and snapped the Reds' three-game winning streak. Eight of Pittsburgh's nine starters had at least one hit apiece by the sixth inning, including two by Perez.
Perez (3-4) has posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and he is 5-0 in seven starts against the Reds dating to last season. He allowed three hits and two runs with five walks and eight strikeouts in 5 1-3 innings.
Mackowiak gave Pittsburgh a 2-0 first-inning lead with a two-run single off Cincinnati starter Elizardo Ramirez (0-3).
Felipe Lopez got a run back in the bottom of the inning with a two-out home run, his seventh of the season and second first-inning shot in two days. He drove in another run with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly, and Joe Randa and Ryan Freel each had an RBI in the ninth.
Pittsburgh took a 5-1 lead in a span of three pitches in the third. Tike Redman and Jason Bay hit doubles on back-to-back pitches for the first run. Ward, batting behind Bay, hit Ramirez's next pitch for a two-run homer, his ninth of the season.
The Pirates loaded the bases later in the inning on Jack Wilson's double, Humberto Cota's intentional walk and Perez's bunt single, which forced Ramirez out of the game. Reliever Randy Keisler walked Matt Lawton to force in Wilson with the inning's fourth run.
Ramirez lasted 2 2-3 innings, the shortest of his three starts. He gave up eight hits and six runs with three walks and one strikeout.
The Pirates added a run on Mackowiak's bases-loaded single in the sixth and another on Lawton's solo homer off the right-field foul pole in the seventh.
-The Associated Press
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The Associated Press
