PITTSBURGH — A big hit, a big catch — and a big sigh of relief for the Reds. In danger of falling 4 1/2 games out of the NL Central lead for the first time all season, they rebounded with six runs in the final two innings to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 Thursday night.

        “That was a tough one for us, a real tough one,” manager Lloyd McClendon said of the Pirates' second loss in eight games since the All-Star break. “But sometimes you've got to credit the other team, too. They played great the last couple of innings and got it done.”

        Even if it didn't come nearly as easily as the Reds might have hoped after Jason LaRue's grand slam off Brian Boehringer (2-3) in the eighth finished off a five-run inning and put them ahead 6-2.

        Boehringer stormed out of the Pirates' dugout after giving up the grand slam, possibly because he didn't want to intentionally walk Reggie Taylor to pitch to LaRue. But he denied afterward there was any controversy, saying, “It was a key point of the game, and I felt I lost the game for us.”

        The Pirates almost got it right back for him. They immediately jumped on reliever Scott Sullivan (6-3) for three runs keyed by Pokey Reese's two-run single. But, with two runners on, Russell Branyan's sliding catch of Chad Hermansen's fly ball ended the inning and kept Cincinnati in the lead 6-5.

        The Reds still needed a smart baserunning play to wrap up their fourth victory in five games.

        They added a run in the ninth on Barry Larkin's RBI single off Mike Lincoln, but only after Austin Kearns slid around catcher Jason Kendall to slap his hand on the plate. Right fielder Rob Mackowiak's throw to the plate beat Kearns by two steps.

        “I figured the only chance I had was to get around him and stick my hand in there,” Kearns said. “Beyond that, you don't think about it, you just do it.”

Reds 7, Pirates 5 Reds Box, Runs Boone hopes chats change struggling players Reds Notebook: Larson on the spot Pirates give Reds credit Reds-Mets Series Preview Rose: 'I'm dead to baseball' Rochester 8, Louisville 6 Cardinals 5, Giants 1 Padres 4, Dodgers 1 Athletics 2, Angels 0 Mariners 5, Rangers 3

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