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PITTSBURGH -- A. Buccaneers #43 Jersey .J. Burnett doesnt have a trophy case filled with awards or a closet packed with All-Star jerseys. The veteran right-hander does, however, own a pair of World Series rings and the scars from a tumultuous career in which hes never seemed to really become the staff ace his high-priced salary demanded. At least, not until now. Burnett scattered two hits over seven innings, Matt Hague delivered a two-run double and the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Wednesday night to move back to .500 (25-25). The Pirates capped off their best May in four years with another solid performance from Burnett (4-2), who has embraced his role as No. 1 starter for a team looking to end 19 years of misery. "Ive been around a long time," Burnett said. "Im no All-Star, Im no Cy Young but Ive been through the battles. I know what its like to win. I know what its like to lose ... Ill do anything I can to help, thats why Im here." Burnett, acquired in a February trade with the New York Yankees, escaped a potentially disastrous first inning then settled down to retire 17 straight batters at one point, with only three balls reaching the outfield. Relying heavily on his fastball, Burnett silenced one of the National Leagues top offences by having them repeatedly bang the ball harmlessly into the PNC Park turf. "Hes been very consistent," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "I think thats one of the things he was looking forward to was coming here and being the guy." Joel Hanrahan worked out of a two-on, one-out jam for his 13th save as Pittsburgh ended the month with a 15-13 record, its first winning May since 2008. "We can pitch," Hurdle said. "Our guys arent going to back down from anybody that comes up to the plate. We feel very confident with what were able to do." Johnny Cueto (5-3) gave up two runs over seven innings, walking four and striking out five while dropping his second straight decision. "Yes, of course when I go head-to-head with somebody like Burnett, a quality pitcher like him," Cueto said. "He throws zeros, I want to throw zeros, and I want to see who wins." The Reds managed just four hits as slugger Joey Votto took most of the night off. The way Burnett was dealing, Vottos presence might not have mattered. "You see how many balls we topped tonight?" Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker said. "He mustve been sinking and moving to top that many balls like that. He threw a real good game against us." Even if Burnett hardly looked dominant at the beginning of the night. Zack Cozart led off with a ground-rule double then moved to third when Pittsburgh third baseman Pedro Alvarez misplayed a sacrifice bunt by Drew Stubbs. Burnett quickly settled down, getting out of the jam when Jay Bruce lined to first, Brandon Phillips hit a sacrifice fly to left and Chris Heisey struck out. Cincinnati wouldnt get another baserunner until Stubbs drew a two-out walk in the sixth and its only other hit against Burnett came on a leadoff single by Heisey in the seventh. Other than that, Burnett rolled. He has spearheaded Pittsburghs resurgent pitching staff thats kept the Pirates competitive despite an offence that ranks last in baseball in runs scored. Save for a woeful outing against the Cardinals on May 2 -- when he was lit up for 12 runs in 2 2-3 innings -- Burnetts ERA this season is 1.53. And dropping. Burnett hasnt allowed an earned run in his last two starts and silenced surging Cincinnati in a series in which the high-powered Reds failed to hit a single home run after hitting 17 during a seven-game homestand last week. Cueto, who began the night 11-3 against the Pirates in his career, was just as good. Pittsburgh only got one runner to third through the first five innings before finally breaking through with a two-out rally in the sixth. Neil Walker walked and Garrett Jones followed with a single. Both scored when Hague -- called up from Triple-A Indianapolis less than a week ago -- drilled a cut fastball to the gap in right-centre. Walker trotted home while Jones raced all the way around from first to give the Pirates the lead. The bullpen made it stand up though Cincinnati made it interesting in the ninth. Heisey and Votto -- who entered as a pinch-hitter after being held out of the lineup for the first time this season to get some rest -- both singled with one out against Hanrahan. The burly closer, however, struck out Miguel Cairo and Ryan Hanigan to complete a 6-3 homestand. NOTES: Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman, whose hotel room was burglarized during Tuesdays game, did not pitch and was not available for comment ... Pittsburgh rookie SS Jordy Mercer collected his first major league hit with a single off Cueto in the first ... The Reds begin a three-game series in Houston on Friday. Mike Leake (1-5, 5,47 ERA) faces Houstons J.A. Happ (4-4, 4.37) ... The Pirates start a six-game road trip on Friday in Milwaukee. Kevin Correia (1-5, 4.30) faces Randy Wolf (2-5, 5.73) in the opener. Jeff Demps Buccaneers Jersey .com) - The Detroit Tigers starting staff has been nearly unhittable in the American League Championship Series. Tim Wright Buccaneers Jersey .Y. -- High hopes have given way to high anxiety in New York.SAN ANTONIO -- Tony Parker had 18 points to lead six players in double figures and the San Antonio Spurs rolled past the listless Brooklyn Nets 113-92 on Tuesday night. Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan had 15 points each and Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills each had 12. Miles Plumlee and Shaun Livingston had 15 points each to lead Brooklyn. Kevin Garnet was held to two points, failing to make a field for only the second time in his 19-year career and the first time since 1996. The Nets (10-30) began the season with the same hope as a New Years Eve celebration after a blockbuster trade brought former NBA champions Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to the team. That promise ended quickly and the lacklustre loss to the Spurs was a microcosm of their season so far. It got so bad for the Nets they couldnt even end the game. Brooklyn was forced to call a timeout with 0.2 seconds left after a long delay because they only had four players who hadnt retreated to the locker room -- thinking the game had ended. Several Nets had not fully retreated, but resumed after initially stopping when the officials ruled the game was not over. With first-year coach Jason Kidd and his staff standing around puzzled, Andrei Kirilenko slowly walked back to the court and was subbed in to complete the game with an inbounds pass. While San Antonio walked off the court collectively high-fiving and in good spirits, Brooklyn walked in separate packs, with the five players who were on the court appearing tired as they trudged to the locker room slowly. Kirilenko was playing his first game after missing the last 25 with back spasms. He had four points. The Nets fared better offensivelly in the second half, but their defence was just as lacklustre. Buccaneers #97 Jersey. The Spurs set a season high for points in the third quarter in a 39-32 period. San Antonio went 4 for 4 on 3-pointers in the third quarter, steadily increasing its lead to 65-38 on Marco Belinellis with 9:22 remaining and to 98-62 on Patty Mills in the final seconds. Gregg Popovich emptied his bench for the fourth quarter, sitting Duncan, Parker, Ginobili for the entire period. The loudest ovation in the fourth quarter came when former Spurs centre David Robinson was shown on the giant television screens at midcourt. NOTES: Jason Terry was shocked by the hostile reception he received upon entering the game early in the first quarter. As the booing grew louder and louder, Terry turned to the crowd, smiled, raised his arms, shrugged and asked "what." Terry has spent the past two seasons in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics and Nets, but Spurs fans obviously have not forgotten his testy battles with the Spurs during his days with the Dallas Mavericks. . Popovich was upset with Ginobili for failing to pass the ball on a 2-on-1 break against Mirza Teletovic to close the first quarter. Ginobili missed a contested layup, with the buzzer sounding as the ball bounced away. Popovich immediately stormed the court and began berating Ginobili, who gestured he thought he had a scoop layup. Popovich followed Ginobili to the bench, but was held back by Duncan momentarily. Popovich eventually worked his way around Duncan and yelled at Ginobili on the bench between quarters. Duncan, who wasnt in the lineup at the time, consoled a visibly upset Ginobili prior to the start of the second quarter. ' ' '