Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press Pirates' Jeromy Burnitz hits a three-run double off Reds pitcher Aaron Harang in the fifth inning last night. Click photo for larger image. More Coverage: Pirates Notebook: Williams buoyed by Reds' attitude Smizik: Bautista causing a dilemma Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic Looking Ahead: Wed. vs. Reds, 7:05 Oliver Perez (1-5) vs. Bronson Arroyo (5-1) Radio: FSN/KDKA-AM (1020) Game Statistics Provided by Forecaster Pirates vs. Cincinnati box score Game play-by-play

The evening had opened for Jeromy Burnitz in frustrating, almost formulaic fashion.

Strike one.

Strike two.

A long, lunging swing for strike three.

And the capper from the crowd: Boooooooooooo!

"Yeah, there's some here-I-go-again feeling right there," he acknowledged later. "But I'm really trying not to think like that. Seriously, I've got to hold my head up high every time I go up there."

He would have plenty of cause to do so soon enough.

Burnitz doubled with runners in scoring position in his next two at-bats, rammed a single down the line after that, amassed a season-high four RBIs and made a fine running catch in the Pirates' 9-3 pounding of the Cincinnati Reds last night at PNC Park.

All that and, perhaps most remarkable, with his next trip to the plate, he would hear a smattering of applause from the several hundred diehards out of the original gathering of 14,315 who endured a relentless rain.

"It was a good night," Burnitz said. "I'm happy to hit the ball, happy to help the squad win the game."

Others contributed, too.

Paul Maholm turned in his finest showing in giving the Pirates 7 1/3 sterling innings -- two runs, five hits and eight strikeouts -- to improve to 2-4. Jason Bay, looking more confident by the day, had a two-out, two-run double. And leadoff man Jose Bautista reached base four times, including two hits that raised his average to .333.

But it was, without question, Burnitz's night, if only because of the monster struggles that preceded it.

He entered the game batting .185, among the worst for any everyday player in Major League Baseball, and had been 4 for 42 in May. He was burdened, too, by the controversy that followed his failure to run out a ground ball last week in front of the home crowd.

But his fortunes changed shortly after the Pirates loaded the bases with nobody out in the third inning against Cincinnati starter Aaron Harang. After Nate McLouth struck out, Freddy Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly, and Bay brought in the other two runners with a double to the wall in center.

Burnitz followed with a double to the right-field corner to bring in Bay and put the Pirates ahead, 4-0.

Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Freddy Sanchez slides home safely past Reds catcher Jason LaRue last night at PNC Park, one of two times he scored in the Pirates' 9-3 victory. Click photo for larger image.

Incredibly, it marked the first time all season that Bay and Burnitz had RBIs in the same game.

"That's what we've been missing, a number of hits that came after we set the stage," manager Jim Tracy said. "This is something that can get this club going in the right direction."

Burnitz's next big hit would make it 7-0 in the fifth.

Harang walked the first three batters of the inning and, after Bay seemed to deflate the rally by popping up on the first pitch he saw, Burnitz fouled off two 2-2 pitches before hammering a double to the track in right-center.

"He took some very good at-bats," Tracy said.

After dusting himself off at second, Burnitz appeared to pause to take in the moment.

"It's a great feeling," he said. "Driving in runs is the best feeling in the world."

Burnitz has spent extra time in the cages working on solid contact, but without altering his approach.

"Doing something like this takes the experience of having done it before," he said. "I had a batting plan put in place three years ago and, whether or not I go 0-for-the-rest-of-the-season, I'm not going to change it."

Burnitz is batting .200 with a team-high 23 RBIs.

Maholm had given up 18 hits in his two previous outings despite limiting opponents to four runs, and it appeared he was in for more of the same last night when the rain delay of 1:03 ended and Felipe Lopez and Edwin Encarnacion opened the game with singles.

But Maholm caught Lopez trying to steal third and struck out Ken Griffey Jr. and Austin Kearns, each swinging under high heat.

"I was in a jam," Maholm said. "You've got to know when to go after them, and I did."

"Paul was around the plate with everything all night," Tracy said.

The Pirates are 8-9 when the opponent fails to score in the first inning.

Afterward, the clubhouse was unusually bubbly, with '80s music blaring at one end and salsa out of the Latin American corner.

Perhaps because the Reds arrived with a 23-15 record that was third-best in the National League.

Perhaps because it rinsed out the foul taste of the two weekend losses to the lowly Florida Marlins.

"It just feels good to play well and win," Burnitz said. "It's fun."