DICKERSON DRUBS REDS AS BUCS WIN 8TH STRAIGHT

Corey Dickerson doesn't necessarily consider himself a power hitter, but his numbers the last three games have suggested otherwise. On Saturday, Dickerson belted a pair of solo home runs, and Nick Kingham backed it up with 6 1/3 strong innings to lift the Pirates to a 6-2 win over the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Pittsburgh has won eight in a row and is over .500 for the first time since June 6.

In some ways, Dickerson makes a conscious choice of wanting to hit for contact rather than taking more chances and spiking his strikeout rate. Whatever the approach may be, Dickerson has started the second half of the season on a tear. He has hit three home runs in two nights and has homered in three consecutive games for the second time in his career. The other time he did so was Aug. 10-12, 2016. The two blasts on Saturday brought his season total to 10 and gave him 100 homers in his career.

That's how the first half of the season played out for the veteran. Dickerson had seven home runs in the first 96 games and now has four in the last three games alone.

Dickerson hammered a first-pitch hanging breaking ball over the center-field wall to open the scoring in the third inning off Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani and then tagged him again in the fifth by turning on a first-pitch fastball on the inner half into the Cincinnati bullpen to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. DeSclafani was pulled from the game a batter later.

Dickerson is one of the more meticulous hitters in baseball, constantly adjusting his grip -- whether it is choking up on the bat, shifting towards the knob or changing his overall approach.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle Kingham navigated around through the first six innings was a 47-minute rain delay that began as he prepared to jog out to the mound for the bottom of the fourth inning. The right-hander walked the first two batters of the game to put himself in an early pinch. He fell behind 2-0 to Joey Votto, but was able to induce a double-play ball and got Eugenio Suarez to fly out to center to escape the jam. Kingham retired 17 of the 19 hitters he faced after the back-to-back walks. He retired 14 batters on three pitches or less and was pulled after an efficient 79 pitches due to the delay and the humid weather.

The rookie worked a good number of favorable counts, which allowed him to keep a lineup that boasts three All-Stars in the two through four slots off balance.

Kingham ran into trouble in the seventh inning after Jesse Winker led off with his second base hit of the game. Two batters later, Curt Casali worked a seven-pitch at-bat and deposited an elevated fastball over the left-field wall to put Cincinnati on the board and chase Kingham from the game. He struck out three and did not walk another batter after the two to begin the game. Kingham even helped his own cause with a two-run single in the sixth inning.

Kingham is now 5-4 since making his big league debut on April 29 and has gone at least six innings in each of his last three outings. He's gaining confidence with each start.

The Pirates recorded double-digit hits for the second consecutive game and have 28 hits in the first two games of the series. The Pittsburgh bullpen put a lid on the Reds' offense for the final six outs for the club's eighth straight win. It is the Pirates' first eight-game winning streak since 2015.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Kingham helps his own cause: Kingham stepped up to bat with runners on second and third with one out in the sixth inning in what was still a tight game at 3-0. He got ahead 2-0 on Michael Lorenzen, whiffed on a pair of sliders and then was able to poke a fastball up the middle for a two-run single that put the Pirates in full control at 5-0.

SOUND SMART

The Pirates' starting rotation has combined to post a 2.82 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 17 walks in the last 10 games. The club has an overall record of 31-17 when the starter goes six innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

PIRATES: C Francisco Cervelli was eligible to be activated from the seven-day concussion disabled list on Saturday, but manager Clint Hurdle said Cervelli had not resumed baseball activities.

REDS: INF Alex Blandino will undergo season-ending surgery on Monday to repairthe torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. INF-OF Brandon Dixon was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to replace Blandino.

UP NEXT

PIRATES: RHP Ivan Nova (5-6) is 3-1 with a 3.51 ERA in seven starts since being reinstated from the disabled list on June 10. He’d been out with a sprained right ring finger.

REDS: Matt Harvey (5-5) is 4-0 over his last five starts. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of those appearances.