NATIONAL LEAGUE Lofton, Pirates are on hitting, winning binges

Kenny Lofton ran his hitting streak to 25 games in Pittsburgh's 9-4 win.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Look at Kenny Lofton, and it's easy to forget he's getting on in years.
Three days shy of his 36th birthday, he's putting up numbers the youngsters can only dream of. He's on a career-high 25-game hitting streak that is the second-longest in the majors this year. He's hitting .406 this month, raising his average to .312.
In the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, he was 3-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored.
"Kenny's been fantastic," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "There's nothing like having a leadoff hitter like him."
Especially when he hauls the rest of his club along with him. The Pirates have won three in a row, and the offense finally looks as if it's catching up to Lofton.
Aramis Ramirez was 4-for-5 with an RBI against the Cubs, four days after he had four hits against St. Louis. Randall Simon and Abraham Nunez each had two RBIs. Pittsburgh finished with 14 hits, and every Pirates starter -- except pitcher Kris Benson -- reached base at least once.
Bucs are jelling
"The team's coming together on offense and pitching," Lofton said. "We've been looking for that for a while, to all be clicking. We were doing OK at home and I felt it then."
And he's making sure they keep it going on the road. After going 2-for-5 in Monday's game against Chicago, Lofton got the Pirates revved up again Tuesday night with a leadoff double in the third inning.
The hit extended his streak to 25 games, second in the majors this season to Boston's Nomar Garciaparra -- who was hitless against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, snapping his string at 26 games.
Lofton went to third on Jeff Reboulet's sacrifice. After Brian Giles walked, Lofton scored on Ramirez's single to left. Simon followed with a run-scoring double for his second RBI, and the Pirates made it 4-0 when Ramirez scored on Jason Kendall's groundout.
"I've been setting the table for years," Lofton said. "I haven't done it as much the last couple of years, but this year I'm really trying to get things going."
Benson delivers
After Eric Karros hit a two-run homer to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 5-2, Benson retired 10 of his next 11 batters.
And Nunez gave Benson (5-5) some breathing room with a two-run double in the fifth.
"Obviously, it's tremendously easier when you have a lead," Benson said. "It puts pressure on them and lets me do what I planned to do to them."
Benson allowed four runs and seven hits over 72/3 innings, striking out four while walking one.