Reds' 5-2 victory tempered by arm injury to Kearns

Aaron Harang beat Pittsburgh for the second time in two starts.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Cincinnati Reds must have known this was too good to last. Off to an unexpectedly good start, they must deal with yet another injury to their outfield.
Sean Casey's two-run homer backed Aaron Harang's effective pitching, and the Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 Monday night despite losing Austin Kearns indefinitely with a broken forearm.
Kearns, the right fielder, was hit on the left arm and wrist by Ryan Vogelsong's pitch two batters after Casey's homer put Cincinnati up 2-0 in the first. Kearns played defense in the first, but was lifted an inning later.
Unusual
"I knew something was wrong," Kearns said. "Usually you can shake it off running to first, but it felt right off the bat like it was different from every other time I've been hit."
Kearns was scheduled to return to Cincinnati today to be examined by team doctors following his second significant injury in two seasons. He injured his right shoulder in May and missed about half the 2003 season.
"It just seems like it can't get much worse right now, with the start I got off to," said Kearns, whose 2-for-23 slump has lowered his average to .137.
The injury comes only three weeks after the Reds finally reunited their everyday outfield of Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Kearns, which appeared in just 21 games together last season.
"It's just so unfortunate, and must be so frustrating for him," Casey said. "It's just bad luck. I could feel the frustration when I came up here [to the clubhouse] in the sixth inning and found out it was broken."
Kearns said the best-case scenario for his return is three to four weeks.
Winning pitcher
Harang (2-0) gave up two runs in six innings, including Craig Wilson's solo homer in the sixth, but worked out of several jams to beat Pittsburgh for the second time in two starts. He gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked one.
Danny Graves pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 12 opportunities and his third in the four-game series. John Riedling and Todd Jones preceded Graves with a scoreless inning each.
Ryan Freel, Kearns' replacement, followed Casey's walk with an RBI triple in the third. Freel had started every Reds game this season until being hit in the head by Jason Boyd's pitch Saturday night, forcing him to sit out Sunday. He returned to a utility role Monday when third baseman Brandon Larson was activated from the disabled list.
Now, Freel is likely to get a lot of playing time until Kearns returns.
About Pirates
The Pirates, 2-5 against the Reds, loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Harang got Rob Mackowiak to fly out. They had two on with one out an inning later, but pinch-hitter Bobby Hill struck out and Tike Redman grounded into a force play.
Vogelsong (1-3) walked six in four innings while losing his third in a row, giving up three runs and four hits. He has allowed 23 hits and 18 runs in 12 innings during his losing streak.
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