PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates knew Mike Leake’s game plan but it still didn’t matter.

Leake worked eight innings for his sixth straight victory over the Bucs and Marlon Byrd homered for the second game in a row as the Cincinnati Reds beat the skidding Pirates 3-0 on Wednesday night.

Leake (2-1) allowed six hits and has not lost to the Pirates in 15 starts, dating to 2012. He struck out two, had no walks and also had an RBI double for the 71st hit of his six-year career.

“We’ve seen (Leake) a bunch and when he’s good he’s sinking the ball and changing speeds,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We hit 14 (groundouts) to the pull side and that’s exactly what he was trying to get us to do.”

Rookie shortstop Jung Ho Kang had two hits, but the Pirates lost for the seventh time in eight games. They have scored seven runs in those losses while going 3-for-37 with runners in scoring position.

“I think the more familiar you are with the opposing hitters as a pitcher, you learn their weaknesses and how to exploit them,” Leake said. “Once that happens, it’s a matter of executing pitches and I’ve been able to do that against them.”

April’s NL Pitcher of the Month Gerrit Cole (4-1) lost his first start in May, and the Pirates lost their fifth straight game. Cole surrendered three runs and eight hits in five innings.

The Reds (14-13) won for the sixth time in nine games and moved over .500 for the first time since April 22.

The Reds’ Brandon Phillips had three singles, including one that hugged the third-base line in the fourth inning and scored Todd Frazier, who had tripled, with the game’s first run. Phillips scored on Leake’s double, then Byrd led off the fifth inning with his fifth home run of the season.