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Harang wins again as Reds top Pirates

Apr 29, 2007 - 11:38 PM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Aaron Harang continued his winning ways, but not without some struggles.

Harang overcame a rough start to throw eight solid innings and Edwin Encarnacion drove in three runs as the Cincinnati Reds posted a 9-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the rubber game of a weekend series Sunday.

Becoming the second pitcher in the National League with an undefeated record with at least four decisions, Harang (4-0) allowed five runs and 10 hits. He struck out nine and walked just one.

Early on, it appeared as if the righthander may be charged with his first loss of the season as the Pirates broke out for four runs in the second and third innings. However, Harang battled back and the Reds' offense woke up.

"Sometimes you're not going to have your best stuff and you just gotta go out there and battle," Harang said. "I was able to do that and keep us in the game, and we were able to come back and jump ahead and stay ahead."

"It shows you what kind of pitcher (Harang) is when he can go out there with less than his best and come away with a win," Reds manager Jerry Narron said.

It was the second tough start against Pittsburgh for Harang, who has surrendered 10 runs and 18 hits despite striking out 15 in 13 2/3 frames vs. the NL Central foe.

"After that second inning, I just wanted to be effective and keep my pitches down, move the ball around in the zone," he said. "I was able to just kind of go out and not try to overthrow and make them put the ball in play, keep them off-balance."

Thanks in part to an RBI single by Harang, Cincinnati scored five runs in the fourth and did not look back. The Reds have won two in a row following a three-game losing streak.

Encarnacion, who had three hits, began the rally in the fourth with a three-run triple that tied the score at 4-4 after Pittsburgh starter Paul Maholm (1-3) allowed the first three batters to reach on a single and two walks.

"When I hit that, I thought, 'I got that one good.' I hit it in the perfect spot," Encarnacion said. "Everybody is coming around right now, everybody's swinging the bat good. We are starting to see pitches in the strike zone, and that's how we can get better with the bat."

Encarnacion had been hitless in his previous 11 at-bats before going 2-of-4 with an RBI in the Reds' 8-1 win on Saturday.

"I feel great. I'm swinging the bat good now," Encarnacion said. "That's how I can help my team to win games like today. It makes me very happy right now, how I'm feeling."

Although Maholm retired David Ross, Harang followed with a single to center field to snap the tie and drive in his second run in 13 at-bats this season.

"I dunno, I just was able to put the bat on the ball and make something happen," Harang said of his second hit of the season.

Brandon Phillips added an RBI double later in the frame, Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer in the fifth and Alex Gonzalez drilled his third homer of the season in the seventh for a 9-4 lead.

Coming off a three-hit shutout against Houston on Tuesday, Maholm was roughed up for six runs and seven hits in four innings. He also walked two and struck out a pair.

"I was being over-aggressive and overthrowing," Maholm said. "I was trying to get myself out of a jam in one pitch and not doing what I needed to do. It was one of those things where the game was going a little too quick and I didn't slow it down."

Maholm has had a lot of trouble slowing down the game against the Reds so far this season, giving up 10 runs and 14 hits in nine innings of two starts. Overall, the 24-year-old fell to 2-3 with a 5.52 ERA in eight career starts against Cincinnati.

Ryan Doumit was 4-of-4 with a pair of RBI, including a run-scoring double in the third that gave the Pirates a 4-1 lead. He also hit his first home run of the season in the ninth to close the scoring.

Doumit, who was promoted from Class AAA Indianapolis on Thursday, recorded his second career four-hit game. The previous came at the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 24, 2005.

"It's been great (since the promotion)," Doumit said. "It's what every player wants, a chance to play and I've been taking advantage of it. But the bottom line is, we lost today (so) it's irrelevant what I did."

The Pirates could use the injection of a hot bat into the lineup, as they ranked 15th in the NL in batting average (.238) and 13th in runs (83) coming into Sunday's game.

"Hitting is contagious and all it's going to take is a few guys to put together a few good games and the team will start to hit," Doumit said. "Everybody in our lineup are proven hitters and it's only a matter of time for them to start doing what they do best."