Gregory Polanco ignored the stop sign from Pittsburgh Pirates third-base coach Rick Sofield and kept on churning. Considering the way the Pirates are struggling to score, the risk seemed worth the reward. A poor throw from Cincinnati centerfielder Billy Hamilton allowed Polanco to sprint across home plate to give Pittsburgh an early lead Thursday. And for the first time in a week, one run served as the beginning of Pittsburgh's offense, not the end. Andrew McCutchen broke out of a long slump with three hits in a 7-2 win over the Reds as the Pirates ended a five-game losing streak. The star centerfielder -- who blamed himself for Pittsburgh's slow start -- doubled, singled twice and provided an insurance run with an RBI in the eighth to raise his batting average from .188 to .210. Read more http://espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=350507123
