Aaron Harang pitched an eight-hitter for his National League-leading sixth complete game and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 Friday to keep their slim post-season hopes alive.

The Reds entered play in third in the NL Central, 2{ games behind division-leading St. Louis. They have two games left against the Pirates.

Rich Aurilia homered and drove in three runs for the Reds, who have won five of six. Norris Hopper had two hits and scored two runs.

Harang (16-11) threw 125 pitches, struck out nine and didn't walk a batter.

Freddy Sanchez went 2-for-4 to raise his NL-leading batting average to .345 for the Pirates, who have lost eight in a row. Pittsburgh's Chris Duffy went 3-for-4.

Ronny Paulino singled in Sanchez in the fourth but Aurilia hit his 23rd homer in the fifth against Zach Duke (10-15) to make it 3-1. Aurilia's drive to the deepest part of the park in left-centre bounced off the top of the padded wall and scored Hopper, who had walked with two outs.

Aurilia singled in Hopper in the seventh, and Juan Castro tripled and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth for Cincinnati.

With Pittsburgh in fifth in the NL Central, fans focused on cheering on Sanchez's pursuit of the batting title.

Fans were given signs that said ``Go Freddy Go'' and each time Sanchez came to the plate he was greeted with an ovation. He singled in the first and fourth innings, lined out sharply to left with Duffy on second and two outs in the fifth and grounded out weakly with Duffy at third in the seventh.

Duke allowed four runs and 12 hits with a walk in 6 2-3 innings, striking out two.

Notes: Hopper left the game in the eighth inning with a mild strain of his right hamstring. ... The Pirates, who were shutout Thursday and played a 15-inning game Wednesday, went 22 innings without scoring a run. ... Adam Dunn's fourth-inning double snapped an 0-for-16 slump for the Reds slugger. ... Pittsburgh RHP Matt Capps retired Edwin Encarnacion to end the seventh for his 83rd appearance _ most among major league rookies and extending his club rookie record.

© The Canadian Press, 2007