Oct 2, 2009 10:47 pm US/Eastern
Pirates Beat Reds, 3-1
CINCINNATI (KDKA/AP) ―
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Daniel McCutchen #62 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on September 14, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
The Pirates avoided a 100-loss season with a 3-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds Friday night on the road.
Rookie pitcher Daniel McCutchen earned his first major league win, pitching into the seventh inning.
He only allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five.
Manager John Russell credited McCutchen's aggressiveness.
"The first nine hitters, McCutchen threw eight or nine first-pitch strikes," Russell said. "We talked to him about getting ahead of hitters. He's thrown the ball pretty well for us. He just hasn't had a win."
Lastings Milledge had a home run and Andy LaRoche Drove in two runs.
Jesse Chavez finished the seventh, Joel Hanrahan pitched a perfect eighth and Matt Capps closed for his 27th save.
Justin Lehr (5-3), starting in place of blister-plagued lefty Matt Maloney, allowed three runs and four hits in six innings.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the third on McCutchen's leadoff walk, Andrew McCutchen's double and LaRoche's two-run single into the left-field corner.
LaRoche was nailed by Balentien at second on the play - right fielder Jay Bruce threw out LaRoche to end the eighth inning.
The Reds had gone 20 consecutive scoreless innings before Balentien homered.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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