At this point in another dismal season, the Cincinnati Reds are looking for any reason to feel a little better about themselves. How about this: At least they're not in last place. Joey Votto hit a solo homer and a tiebreaking, bases-loaded single in the eighth inning Thursday, completing the Reds' rally from a five-run deficit to an 8-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who got to stay all by...

Adam LaRoche didn't need much to snap his slump. The Pittsburgh first baseman was hitless in 16 straight at bats before coming up with a pair of soft RBI singles to lead the Pirates to a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. "I wasn't aware that I was 0-for-16," LaRoche said. "I've been 0-for-16 before, but I had no idea.

It's too early to say if Pittsburgh's three-way deal at the trade deadline is paying off, but the Pirates can dream, can't they? Rookies Brandon Moss and Andy LaRoche, two of the players acquired by Pittsburgh in a six-player deal on July 31, hit back-to-back home runs to help the last-place Pirates snap a 10-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

To the Milwaukee Brewers, CC Sabathia pitched a no-hitter. The official scorer disagreed. The Brewers are going to try to change his mind. Sabathia limited the Pirates to Andy LaRoche's infield single leading off the fifth inning, on a play Milwaukee manager Ned Yost argued was an error on the pitcher, and the Brewers beat Pittsburgh 7-0 Sunday for their eighth victory in nine games.

Jeff Suppan thinks his winning streak has as much to do with the Brewers' recent success as it does his own mastery of opponents. Suppan won his fifth consecutive decision, Corey Hart and Mike Cameron homered, and the Milwaukee Brewers handed the Pittsburgh Pirates their ninth straight loss, 11-3 Saturday night.

Milwaukee put its first two runners on base Friday night, and that brought up the perfect hitter to face Tom Gorzelanny. Ryan Braun continued his success against the left-hander by hitting a three-run home run, and the Brewers handed the Pittsburgh Pirates their eighth straight loss with a 3-1 win. Dave Bush (9-9) allowed one run in 6 2-3 innings for Milwaukee, which increased its lead in the NL...

No. 2 draft pick Pedro Alvarez refused to sign his contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the players' association filed a grievance Wednesday claiming the Aug. 15 deadline was unilaterally extended by Major League Baseball without the union's permission. The Pirates announced early on Aug. 16 that Alvarez, a power-hitting third baseman from Vanderbilt, agreed to a minor league contract with a $6...

Two bunts, one double and nine well-pitched innings. The Chicago Cubs proved on a Wrigley Field-like day they can win when their bats aren't booming, and their by-the-textbook victory came before they begin what may be their toughest stretch all season. Jason Marquis shut down Pittsburgh's batters on a cool, windy day that must have made the Cubs feel at home, and Chicago turned two well-placed...

Alfonso Soriano dropped a routine fly ball in Pittsburgh for the second time in four months, giving the Chicago Cubs flashbacks. The team with the majors' best record need not have worried. Geovany Soto still had another at-bat to go. Soto drove in seven runs and his second three-run double of the game keyed a seven-run eighth inning, helping the Cubs rally for a 14-9 victory over the Pirates on...

A day after cautioning his team that this is no time to sit around, Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella got plenty of production up and down his lineup. What he liked most was that much of it came from his new prize pupil, Kosuke Fukudome. Aramis Ramirez homered and drove in three runs and the Cubs improved baseball's best record by again beating the team they torment the most, defeating the...

J.J. Hardy's patience was wearing thin in extra innings, but he waited -- exactly one more pitch. Hardy drove in the winning run on his bobblehead day at Miller Park, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Pittsburgh 4-3 in 12 innings on Sunday for their 12th straight home win over the Pirates. "It's just a coincidence that it's bobble day for me that it happened, but it's nice to have that many fans out...

Able to wave the bat free and easy, Ryan Braun got right into the swing. Hampered lately by a tight back, Braun homered, doubled and drove in three runs as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 Saturday night for their third straight victory. The All-Star slugger had missed nine of the previous 12 games with an intercostal strain -- he described the pain as muscles tightening on...

Dave Bush seems to always struggle in the opening innings. Good thing a run or two doesn't matter to these Brewers. Bush rebounded from another slow start to toss seven solid innings, then watched Mike Cameron homer to cap a six-run seventh as Milwaukee rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-4 on Friday night.