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Leake brilliant as Reds blank Bucs

May 7, 2015 - 2:08 AM Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Leake was excellent over eight innings to help the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second of three at PNC Park.

Leake (2-1), who held Atlanta scoreless for eight innings in his last start, again went eight and scattered six hits, did not walk a batter and also knocked in a run against the Pirates on Wednesday.

"He was great," Reds manager Bryan Price said of his starter. "You could see early on that he had control of both sides of the plate."

Marlon Byrd homered and Brandon Phillips had three hits with an RBI for the Reds, who have won seven straight against Pittsburgh.

Gerrit Cole (4-1), April's National League Pitcher of the Month, allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings of work.

The Pirates have lost five straight overall.

Todd Frazier led off the fourth with a triple off the wall in center, then Phillips followed with an infield single on a ball that danced down the third- base line, allowing Frazier to score. Phillips hustled over to third on a groundout by Jay Bruce, and later scored on Leake's two-out ground-rule double to left.

Byrd hit his second home run in the series and fifth of the season to begin the fifth for a 3-0 Reds lead.

Leake needed just over 60 pitches to get through five innings and picked up his defense to keep the Pirates off the board. He stranded a runner at second in the fifth after Jung Ho Kang reached on an error to begin the frame, then worked out of a first-and-third, two-out jam in the sixth after a Frazier error by striking out Pedro Alvarez with a backdoor curveball.

Pittsburgh got something going in the seventh with a pair of two-out singles, but Gregory Polanco was called out for batter interference when Leake hit him with a throw to first base.

"We've seen him a bunch. When he is good he is sinking the ball and changing speeds," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Leake. "He did have a good sinker tonight."

Aroldis Chapman allowed just one hit in the ninth and converted his sixth save of the season to close it out for Leake.

Game Notes

Andrew McCutchen snapped an 0-for-13 hitless streak with an eighth-inning single ... Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto ejected in the middle of the third after he struck out swinging. Votto tossed his bat and helmet down in disgust before home plate umpire Chris Conroy threw him out of the game moments later ... Billy Hamilton stole his 14th base of the season for the Reds.