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CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Aaron Boone homered twice and rookie Brady Clark added a three-run shot as the Cincinnati Reds snapped a four-game losing streak with 7-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Boone recorded his second career two-homer game, belting a solo blast in the fifth and a two-run shot in the seventh. His only other multi-homer game was September 7, 1999 against the Chicago Cubs. "I was here forever last night," said Boone, who took extra batting practice after Wednesday's 14-3 loss. "It was hurting to swing, but a couple felt real good. I haven't been at the comfort level this year. Hopefully, this is the start of that." Clark also homered in the seventh, when Cincinnati scored four times for a 7-1 cushion. He made his fourth career start and first after 16 consecutive appearances as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement. "I know my at-bats will be sporadic," Clark said. "I come early and work to stay sharp. If I can just get a quality at-bat and make the pitcher throw a lot of pitches, I can help this team." Rookie Jose Acevedo (2-1) was effective over six-plus innings for the Reds, who improved baseball's worst home record to 11-31. They set a season high for wins on a homestand by going 3-5. Rookie lefthander David Williams (1-1) allowed just one unearned run over six innings for the Pirates, who had won three straight and seven of 10. "We played well this series," Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. "I certainly don't like losing, but I'll take three of four." Williams carried a shutout into the bottom of the fourth inning, when Wilton Guerrero singled, stole second, went to third on catcher Jason Kendall's throwing error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ken Griffey Jr. The Reds purchased Guerrero's contract from Class AAA Indianapolis before the game. He was 1-for-4 and is 1-for-9 this season. Boone made it 2-0 with a leadoff homer in the fifth. That was enough support for Acevedo, who gave up one run while scattering eight hits, walking none and striking out two in his fourth start since being recalled in mid-June. "I feel excited for myself and my team," he said. "We had a meeting yesterday and we said you have to be pushing, telling everyone, 'Come on, let's go,' and keep the game loose." "We're getting real excited about it," Reds manager Bob Boone added. "He has an idea in his head about what he wants to do and he's executing it." Williams deserved better in his third start, yielding only two runs and three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He threw 46 of 77 pitches for strikes. "I tried to keep the ball down," Williams said. "The only time I didn't do that was when Boone got me." The Pirates halved their deficit on Kendall's RBI single in the sixth. But Scott Sullivan preserved Cincinnati's 2-1 lead in the seventh, leaving the bases loaded after entering with runners at second and third and none out. "Sully's been awful good for a while," Bob Boone said of the sidearming righthander, who has allowed runs in just two of his last 13 appearances. Pittsburgh's bullpen fell apart in the seventh. Damaso Marte started the inning in place of Williams and issued a one-out walk to Dmitri Young before Boone smacked his second homer of the game. "He spent time in front of a mirror," Bob Boone said of his son, who continues to recover from a broken bone in his right hand. "He's searching for where he was when he was getting hits." After a two-out single by Kelly Stinnett, Omar Olivares spelled Marte and gave up an infield hit to Ruben Rivera. Clark followed with his fourth home run in 37 at-bats this season to cap the scoring. "Brady Clark had a huge home run for us," Bob Boone said. "Clark and (Bill) Selby are making statements that they're big leaguers by the way they play." Danny Graves finished the game with two scoreless innings for the Reds, whose home record is better than only one road mark in baseball -- the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' 10-32. The Pirates are 13-32 on the road and last in the National League Central -- one-half game behind the Reds.
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