PITTSBURGH — The ball left Travis Snider’s bat and he took off with his head down. The Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had imagined driving the ball into the Allegheny River since he joined the team last summer.

In Snider’s daydreams, the homer always went down the right field line, the shortest route out of PNC Park.

Reality turned out to be even sweeter. And longer.

Snider’s 458-foot longball over the bushes in right-center propelled the Pirates to a 7-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night. The two-run shot was Snider’s first homer since last August, an eternity for a guy once considered a power-hitting prospect.

That’s why he didn’t look up. Snider thought he had homered earlier in the season and flipped his bat in celebration only to end up with a double. Not this time. He sprinted around the bases without so much as peeking from under his cap to see where the ball landed.

“For me it’s not how far it goes,” Snider said. “It’s just about getting it over the fence. It’s been a struggle, a long nine months or so.”

Snider finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs, including the 31st homer to end up in the river in the 12-year history of the ballpark. Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Garrett Jones and Russell Martin all had two hits as Pittsburgh won for the sixth time in seven games.

Francisco Liriano (2-0) allowed one run on six hits over 5 2-3 innings, striking out seven and walking three. The veteran left-hander reached 96 mph with his fastball and overcame a sloppy first inning before settling down.

“I just try to stay calm, not try to do too much, hit my spot and just focus on location,” Liriano said. “Pitching is all about location. I’m locating my fastball a lot better and my slider is working for me so far.”

Burgos gave up three runs in five innings but Milwaukee’s offense sputtered. The Brewers have lost 11 of 13.

“I know we’re going to be fine,” Milwaukee center fielder Carlos Gomez said. “This is a problem that can be fixed because we have good players. It’s tough now, though. It’s embarrassing. We have a lot of expectations on this team and we’re not playing up to them.”

The Pirates sure are. Pittsburgh moved to 24-17 with the win, matching the franchise’s best start through the first quarter of the season in 21 years. The 1992 Pirates also began the season 24-17 and finished with 96 victories while capturing the NL East. It’s also the last time Pittsburgh finished the season with a winning record.

“We’re in a good place right now,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.

The romp capped a dramatic turnaround in one of baseball’s most lopsided rivalries. Milwaukee has dominated the Pirates over the last six years, coming into the series 71-25 against Pittsburgh since 2007.

Milwaukee won the opener on Monday before the Pirates responded with a 4-3 win on Tuesday in 12 innings.