CINCINNATI — Homer Bailey got his first win in six starts and the Reds hit four solo homers in a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night.
Bailey allowed only one run in 5 2/3 innings for his first win since Aug. 11. Bailey (5-8) gave up five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts. He also hit a batter.
"I had really good command," Bailey said. "I threw some good splits. We have such a good defense. It allows me to be more aggressive."
Zack Cozart hit two home runs and Joey Votto and Scott Schebler had one each.
"It feels good to be mostly healthy at this point in the season," said Cozart, the 32-year-old All-Star starter. "The biggest thing is not chasing hits.
"I'm putting a good swing on it, and if I make an out, I make an out. I wasn't looking for a pitch honestly. He was throwing 97 (mph), and I'd never faced him before. I wanted to see what he had. At that speed, all I wanted to do was put the barrel of the bat on the ball."
The Reds hit all four homers off Chad Kuhl, a second-year right-hander. Kuhl hadn't allowed more than two in any game and yielded only four over a combined 12 starts in July and August.
"He made some mistakes in the zone in a hitter-friendly ballpark," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "Four solo shots - at least he kept the traffic off in front of them. The guys that hit them have been doing it. All four balls were lifted on mistakes that were up."
The Reds reached Kuhl (7-11) for eight hits with three walks and six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Michael Lorenzen came in to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth and allowed a hit and a walk with two strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings. Raisel Iglesias allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings on Adam Frazier’s ninth-inning, two-out triple, before getting Jordan Luplow to line out to left field for his 27th save.
Cozart went into the game with a career-high 20 home runs and added two in consecutive at-bats in the third, snapping a 1-1 tie, and fifth innings.
Votto gave the Reds a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his 35th of the season. Schebler added his 27th with two outs in the fifth.
CLOSING IN
Votto's home run left him two short of matching the career-high 37 which he finished his 2010 MVP season. Votto also is two runs batted in short of matching the 97 he piled up last season.
GOING YARD
Cozart's two home runs gave him four in his last five games and five in his last nine. He has hit five of the Reds' last 10 home runs. The multi-homer game was his third of the season and fifth of his career.
BLACK AND BLUE
A replay review confirmed that Bailey grazed Gregory Polanco with a pitch in the sixth inning. Pirates have been hit by pitches a major league-leading 82 times this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli, on the disabled list since Aug. 26 with left quad irritation, is day-to-day and working on sharpening his defensive skills, Hurdle said Friday.
Reds: 2B Scooter Gennett took batting practice before Friday's game but missed his third straight start with left hand inflammation.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Ivan Nova (11-13) is 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA in three starts this season against Cincinnati and 0-7 in his last seven road starts.
Reds: RHP Sal Romano (4-6) is 0-2 with a combined 3.86 ERA in two starts this season against Pittsburgh.
