Scott Rolen belted a three-run homer and Johnny Cueto tossed six scoreless innings to carry the Cincinnati Reds to an 8-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.

Jay Bruce homered and Drew Stubbs drove in a pair of runs for the Reds, who have won five of seven contests. Miguel Cairo added three hits and scored twice.

Cueto (5-1) put together another strong outing in winning his fifth game in a row. The right-hander struck out nine and scattered three hits to lower his ERA to 3.25.

The Reds struck for four runs in the first inning and three more in the second off Pirates starter Charlie Morton for the 7-0 advantage.

Rolen and Bruce accounted for the first-inning burst with back-to-back home runs. Stubbs’ bases-loaded single brought in a pair in the next frame for the sizable cushion.

Morton (1-9) was charged for all seven runs -- five earned -- on eight hits in two innings of work.

Akinori Iwamura and Ronny Cedeno drove in runs for the Pirates, who have dropped six of their last eight.