Pittsburgh Pirates weekly report

The Pirates on Wednesday dropped their fifth consecutive game, a 12-2 drubbing by the Cincinnati Reds. Andrew McCutchen doubled twice and scored a run, but Kevin Hart (4-8) suffered his sixth straight loss with a poor outing. He pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits, eight earned runs, walking three and striking out two.

On Thursday, the Pirates dropped their sixth straight game and were swept in the second series in a row, losing 4-1 to the Reds. Starter Charlie Morton (4-9) retired 11 straight batters at one point, but the Reds' four-run rally in the top of the third left the Bucs behind for good. Morton pitched seven innings, giving up six hits, four earned runs, walking two and striking out three.

The Pirates on Friday started a three-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3-1 win. Five Pirates relievers combined to limit the Dodgers to one run. Donnie Veal (1-0) earned his first big-league win as the Bucs ended a six-game losing streak and kept the Dodgers from clinching. Veal pitched two innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. Matt Capps closed it out with an inning of relief for his 26^th save.

On Saturday, the Pirates took a 4-3 lead into the top of the eighth against the Dodgers, but then things turned rocky as the Dodgers plated four in the eighth (including two on bases-loaded walks) and one in the ninth for an 8-4 win. Andy LaRoche hit his 10^th homer and Andrew McCutchen drove in two with a single in the seventh. Paul Maholm started and Denny Bautists (1-1) took the loss with a third of an inning pitched. He gave up one hit, two earned runs walked on and struck out one.

The Bucs earned at least a split on Sunday with a dramatic 6-5 win over the Dodgers. With the game tied 2-2 going into the top of the ninth, the Dodgers scored three times for a 5-2 lead, but then an improbable bottom of the ninth inning four-run rally put the Pirates on top. Lastings Milledge's two-run single scored the winning run on an error by Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier. Matt Capps (4-8) took the win with one inning pitched, giving up three hits, three runs (two of them earned), walking one and striking out one.

On Monday, the Pirates finished off the Dodgers 11-1, their third win in the four-game series against Los Angeles. A Mark Loretta error in the bottom of the fifth led to four unearned runs, helping the Bucs in their blowout. Andy LaRoche had five hits, including two home runs, and had a bases-loaded double to help him finish with six RBIs and four runs scored. Zach Duke (11-15) held the Dodgers scoreless over eight innings. He three 8 2/3 innings, giving up four hits, one earned run, walking one and striking out six. Donald Veal came in to get the final out on a strikeout.

The Pirates opened a four-game set against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday with a 6-0 loss. Three early errors allowed three unearned runs early on, and the bats hardly showed up for the game. Kevin Hart (4-9) took the loss, giving up six hits, six runs (three of them earned), walking four and striking out five.