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May 27, 2010 - 5:35 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Pittsburgh (20-26) at Cincinnati (26-20), 7:10 p.m. EDT

May has been the best month of Johnny Cueto's young career, and the Cincinnati Reds have watched him look particularly good in four starts this season.

In one, he was nearly perfect.

Cueto faces the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night for the first time since holding them to two baserunners in his first career shutout, and he'll be seeking his fifth straight win in the finale of a four-game set at Great American Ball Park.

Cueto (4-1, 3.60 ERA) had experienced previous success both in May and against the Pirates (20-27) before facing them at PNC Park on May 11. The right-hander had a career 3.80 ERA in May, and was 6-2 with a 3.88 ERA in nine lifetime starts against the Pirates.

His 10th outing, however, was the best of his three-year career with Cincinnati (27-20). An infield single and a hit batsmen were the only baserunners Pittsburgh could muster in Cueto's 9-0 gem.

"When you let him get that deep into a game," Pirates manager John Russell told the team's official website, "he's only going to get better like he did. He was tough."

Cueto hasn't been quite that dominant in his two starts since, but he's still been good. He allowed one run over seven innings in a 6-3 win over Milwaukee on May 17, and two runs over six innings in a 6-4 victory at Cleveland on Saturday before leaving with a minor blister.

Cueto, who's holding opponents to a .190 average this month, improved to 8-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 15 career May starts.

"Every day, I feel stronger," Cueto told the Reds' official website through an interpreter. "My arm feels good. My legs feel good. I'm throwing the way I was throwing the first year - 94, 95, 96 mph."

The two Pirates to have some success against Cueto also happen to be the team's two biggest run producers. Garrett Jones is 5 for 13 with two doubles against Cueto, while Andrew McCutchen is 5 for 14 with two homers.

Those two couldn't produce any runs Wednesday, however, and neither could the rest of Pittsburgh's lineup. The Pirates were held to six singles in a 4-0 loss, their NL-worst seventh shutout.

Three of those have come against the Reds.

"Bottom line, we have to hit," Russell said. "We have to hit with guys in scoring position."

Opposing Cueto will be Charlie Morton (1-8, 8.71 ERA), whom he beat May 11. Morton allowed three runs over six innings in that game, falling to 1-3 with a 5.55 ERA in four starts against the Reds.

Morton still has the majors' highest ERA of any pitcher with at least five starts, but he's shown some improvement over the past month. He gave up three runs over six innings in a 4-2 loss to Atlanta on Saturday, his fourth quality start in five outings.

"I don't care anymore about the starts I've made, whether they were good or bad," Morton said. "I'm just going to build on the positive and learn from the negatives."

Reds first baseman Joey Votto, 1 for 8 with three strikeouts against Morton, missed Wednesday's game with a stiff neck and is questionable for the finale.