NATIONAL LEAGUE Pirates beat Reds for fifth straight win

Ian Snell pitched seven shutout innings and Jason Bay delivered again.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ian Snell limited the Cincinnati Reds to six hits over seven shutout innings in another excellent start, and Jason Bay's two-run double got the Pittsburgh Pirates going in the first inning of a 3-1 victory on Friday night
The Pirates matched their longest winning streak of last season by winning their fifth in a row to move above .500 at 11-10 -- a modest achievement for some teams but a turnaround for one that was 5-16 and nine games out of first place a year ago.
The Reds, down 3-0 before starter Eric Milton (0-4) retired his second batter, lost their third straight and seventh in nine games.
Salomon Torres, in danger of losing his job as Pirates' closer after blowing saves in three of his five most recent opportunities, allowed a homer to leadoff hitter Adam Dunn among two hits in the ninth.
But he still got his seventh save in 10 chances, a day after being pulled after allowing two runs in the ninth of a 5-3 decision over Houston.
Torres gave away a ninth-inning lead with Snell out of the game last Saturday during a 7-3 loss in 10 innings to the Dodgers, but was given a bigger lead to work with this time.
Snell (2-1), who won 14 games for a 95-loss team a year ago, is a major reason for the Pirates' improvement. He made his fifth consecutive effective start, striking out four and walking two while lowering his ERA to 1.59. He hasn't permitted more than two runs in any start, pitching at least seven innings all but once.
Key to the season
Pittsburgh knew its young pitching staff -- all but one starter is 25 or younger -- was the key to the season, and so far it has been. Those starters have gone 4-0 on the current home stand, allowing two runs in 28 innings, an 0.64 ERA.
By contrast, Milton was in trouble from the start, giving up Chris Duffy's leadoff single and walking Jack Wilson. A batter later, Bay's double scored both runners and Adam LaRoche later singled in Bay.
Milton is 1-6 in his career against Pittsburgh with two losses this season, and is 16-27 since signing a 25 million, three-year deal with the Reds.
Snell worked out of two major jams. In the second, Alex Gonzalez doubled, Edwin Encarnacion reached on catcher's interference when his swing knocked the glove off Ronny Paulino's hand and Javier Valentin walked. But Snell got Milton to ground out.
Scott Hatteberg and Brandon Phillips singled to start the sixth, before Snell got out of it with a double-play grounder and Gonzalez's lineout.
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