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Nady's homer propels Pirates past Reds

Jul 3, 2008 - 3:55 AM By Douglas Tifft PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Xavier Nady swung a big bat for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Nady's two-run homer in the fifth inning was the key blow Wednesday as the Pirates posted a 9-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

The right fielder went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI for Pittsburgh, which won the rubber match of the three-game series.

"I just try to have good at-bats," said Nady, who has a 12-game hitting streak and owns a .385 career average at Great American Ball Park. "Guys in front of you are getting on base, and it is kind of contagious early in the game. I just tried to relax, see good pitches and put them in play."

With the game tied at 5-5 in the top of the fifth, Nady launched a 1-1 pitch from Cincinnati rookie starter Daryl Thompson (0-2) over the wall in left field to give the Pirates a two-run lead.

It was Nady's second blast of the game and 12th of the season, capping his second two-homer effort of 2008. He also belted a pair of shots on Opening Day against the Atlanta Braves.

The Pirates pounced on Thompson early.

Five straight hits to begin the contest helped Pittsburgh to a quick 4-0 advantage. An RBI double by Luis Rivas and a run-scoring hit by Jason Bay made it 2-0 before groundouts by Adam LaRoche and Jose Bautista each plated a run.

However, rookie Jay Bruce led off the bottom of the first with a homer and, after Adam Dunn drilled a solo shot an inning later, belted a three-run blast off John Van Benschoten, giving him his first career multi-homer game and the Reds a 5-4 edge.

Van Benschoten entered the game with a focus of being more aggressive and throwing first-pitch strikes, which he did to eight of the 12 batters he faced. But he explained after the game that there was a difference between merely throwing strikes and throwing effective strikes.

"There is a difference between strikes down the middle as opposed to the outer third or inner third (of the plate)," the dispirited Van Benschoten said. "There is a big difference, and I have to do better."

Nady's one-out solo homer in the third tied the game at 5-5.

In relief of the ineffective Van Benschoten, Denny Bautista (1-0) allowed one hit in 3 1/3 innings to notch his first win of 2008. Van Benschoten was tagged for five runs and five hits in just 2 1/3 frames.

"You gotta give a lot of credit to (Denny) Bautista," Pirates manager John Russell said. "He came into a game that looked like it was going to be a slugfest and closed the door."

Thompson also struggled, surrendering seven runs, eight hits and a walk in 4 1/3 innings.

"When you go out there and don't have your stuff, you've got to battle through it," Thompson said. "It's not the first time this has happened. I just didn't fight through it like I really wanted to. I tried and tried but couldn't keep the ball down."

The Pirates added insurance runs on an RBI triple by LaRoche in the seventh and a solo homer by Jose Bautista in the ninth.