PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A.J. Burnett limited the Cincinnati Reds for seven effective innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended a five-game losing streak with a 7-2 win on Thursday night.Burnett (1-1) allowed two runs, striking out four and walking two. The 38-year-old now has 2,401 career strikeouts, tied with Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for 40th all-time.Starling Marte and Chris Stewart each drove in two runs for Pittsburgh. Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 4 with an RBI while Neil Walker added two hits and drove in a run. The Pirates' seven runs were two more than they managed during their recent slide. 
Todd Frazier went 2 for 3 with his National League-leading 10th home run for Cincinnati and Marlon Byrd chipped in two hits. Anthony DeSclafani (2-3) labored through five innings, giving up three runs as the Reds fell to the Pirates for the first time in six meetings this season.Burnett entered the game with the lowest ERA in the National League (1.45) but had nothing in the win column to show for it. Pittsburgh scored all of five runs total during Burnett's first five starts, an offensive swoon that worsened over the last week, a stretch in which the Pirates crossed home plate while leaving a stunning 54 runners on base.Manager Clint Hurdle preached patience and for a night, his team found the open patches of grass it had been missing for much of the first month of the season.Walker gave the Pirates their first lead since Saturday when he singled home Gregory Polanco in the first. Pittsburgh's first first-inning run in nearly two weeks didn't come easy. Polanco raced by third base coach Rick Sofield - who emphatically held the "stop" sign up - but was bailed out when Cincinnati centerfielder Billy Hamilton's throw was well up the line.Frazier's sixth homer of the year against the Pirates tied it in the fourth, but a sacrifice fly by Marte and an RBI-double by Pedro Alvarez off DeSclafani gave Burnett a 3-1 cushion. He didn't let it go to waste, wriggling out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh by striking out pinch-hitter Skip Schumacher and getting Hamilton to hit into a fielder's choice.The Pirates tacked on three runs in the seventh against Cincinnati reliever Kevin Gregg, highlighted by a two-run single from Stewart.McCutchen, who blamed himself for Pittsburgh's sluggish start, added an RBI single in the eighth for his first three-hit game since Sept. 8, 2014, to raise his batting average from .188 to .210.Cincinnati's pitchers helped the Pirates get back on track, issuing seven walks, including four by DeSclafani. The right-hander has lost two straight decisions and his ERA, which was 1.04 in April, has now ticked up to 2.50.
Todd Frazier went 2 for 3 with his National League-leading 10th home run for Cincinnati and Marlon Byrd chipped in two hits. Anthony DeSclafani (2-3) labored through five innings, giving up three runs as the Reds fell to the Pirates for the first time in six meetings this season.Burnett entered the game with the lowest ERA in the National League (1.45) but had nothing in the win column to show for it. Pittsburgh scored all of five runs total during Burnett's first five starts, an offensive swoon that worsened over the last week, a stretch in which the Pirates crossed home plate while leaving a stunning 54 runners on base.Manager Clint Hurdle preached patience and for a night, his team found the open patches of grass it had been missing for much of the first month of the season.Walker gave the Pirates their first lead since Saturday when he singled home Gregory Polanco in the first. Pittsburgh's first first-inning run in nearly two weeks didn't come easy. Polanco raced by third base coach Rick Sofield - who emphatically held the "stop" sign up - but was bailed out when Cincinnati centerfielder Billy Hamilton's throw was well up the line.Frazier's sixth homer of the year against the Pirates tied it in the fourth, but a sacrifice fly by Marte and an RBI-double by Pedro Alvarez off DeSclafani gave Burnett a 3-1 cushion. He didn't let it go to waste, wriggling out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh by striking out pinch-hitter Skip Schumacher and getting Hamilton to hit into a fielder's choice.The Pirates tacked on three runs in the seventh against Cincinnati reliever Kevin Gregg, highlighted by a two-run single from Stewart.McCutchen, who blamed himself for Pittsburgh's sluggish start, added an RBI single in the eighth for his first three-hit game since Sept. 8, 2014, to raise his batting average from .188 to .210.Cincinnati's pitchers helped the Pirates get back on track, issuing seven walks, including four by DeSclafani. The right-hander has lost two straight decisions and his ERA, which was 1.04 in April, has now ticked up to 2.50.
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