Pirates beat slumping Reds, 9-3

Jeromy Burnitz came out of his slump driving in four runs for the Bucs.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Paul Maholm took a shutout into the eighth inning and Jeromy Burnitz came out of an extended slump to drive in four runs, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates past the still-slumping Cincinnati Reds 9-3 Tuesday night.
The Reds lost their fourth in a row and eighth in 12 games, a slide that dropped them out of first place in the NL Central. They have scored no more than one run in seven of those 12 games.
Maholm (2-4) gave up five hits in 71/3 innings, two to start the game following a 63-minute rain delay. But the left-hander got out of that early jam by picking Felipe Lopez off second base and striking out Ken Griffey Jr. and Austin Kearns and went on to strike out eight.
Reds score in eighth
The Reds didn't score until former Pirates catcher David Ross hit his second career pinch-hit homer, a two-run drive in the eighth that brought on reliever Salomon Torres. Felipe Lopez followed with a solo homer off Torres.
Burnitz has been booed repeatedly during recent home games as his average dropped to .185 during a 3-for-36 slump. But he had an RBI double in a four-run third inning against Aaron Harang (5-2), then added a three-run double to chase Harang in the fifth.
Burnitz's four RBIs were only one fewer than the five he had in his previous 13 games combined.
Bautista aids cause
Jose Bautista, called up from the minors 10 days ago, had an RBI single among his two runs, walked twice and scored two runs while reaching base four times.
Harang had won five in a row, but hurt himself by making an errant throw to second base on Maholm's bunt in the third after Jose Castillo singled. Bautista singled to drive in the first run of the game, and Freddy Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly ahead of the consecutive doubles by Bay and Burnitz.
Harang also got himself into trouble by walking Bautista, Nate McLouth and Sanchez in succession to start the fifth before Burnitz doubled for the second time.
Notes
The rain returned during the final four innings, but the umpires did not stop play. ... It was only the third time all season that Bay and Burnitz drove in runs in the same game. ... Harang had been 6-2 against Pittsburgh. ... The Pirates won for the 12th time in 39 games. ... Lopez is 21-for-42 in his last 10 games. ... Cincinnati is 14-8 against the NL Central, while Pittsburgh is 5-17. ... Bay has 18 RBIs in 21 games against the Reds the last two seasons. .. The two teams played their second game in as many days in as many cities. They were rained out after playing two-plus innings in the Hall of Fame exhibition game in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Monday. ... The Pirates averaged 2.75 runs in Maholm's first seven starts, the third worst run support for any starter in the majors.
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