A.J. Burnett worked seven sharp innings Thursday night to pick up his first win to accompany a 1.66 ERA, as the Pirates’ offense awakened to down the Reds, 7-2, and avoid a historic loss.
Starling Marte and Chris Stewart drove in two runs each, and Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-4 and scored twice for the Bucs, who’d totaled five runs in their previous five games in May. The Reds had won the season’s first five meetings between the teams, and they were going for their first 6-0 start in a series that dates back to 1882.
Anthony DeSclafani lasted only five innings for a third straight start for the Reds, and allowed seven hits and three runs. Todd Frazier’s fourth-inning solo homer — his 11th against Pittsburgh since the start of last season — wasn’t enough to overcome that. The Bucs then added three in the seventh off Kevin Gregg, two of them on Stewart’s two-out single.
“I think the offense was the stopper tonight,” Burnett said after halting the Pirates’ five-game losing streak. “They came out swinging the bat, and showed the determination not to quit, not to give up. We got some pros going through some stuff, but they aren’t phased by it, and that’s more important than anything.”
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