PITTSBURGH - The Cincinnati Reds must have known this was too good to last. Off to an unexpectedly good start, they must deal with yet another injury to their star-crossed outfield.

Sean Casey's two-run homer backed Aaron Harang's effective pitching, and the Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 Monday night despite losing Austin Kearns indefinitely with a broken forearm.

Kearns, the right fielder, was hit on the left arm and wrist by Ryan Vogelsong's pitch two batters after Casey's homer put Cincinnati up 2-0 in the first. Kearns played defense in the first, but was lifted an inning later.

"I knew something was wrong," Kearns said after the Reds improved to 12-7. "Usually you can shake it off running to first, but it felt right off the bat like it was different from every other time I've been hit."

Kearns will return to Cincinnati today to be examined by team doctors following his second significant injury in two seasons. He injured his right shoulder in May and missed about half the 2003 season.

The injury comes only three weeks after the Reds finally reunited their everyday outfield of Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey Jr. and Kearns, which appeared in just 21 games together last season.

Kearns said the best-case scenario for his return is three to four weeks.

Harang (2-0) gave up two runs in six innings, including Craig Wilson's solo homer in the sixth, but worked out of several jams to beat Pittsburgh for the second time in two starts. He gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked one.

Danny Graves pitched the ninth for his 10th save in 12 opportunities and his third in the four-game series. John Riedling and Todd Jones preceded Graves with a scoreless inning each.

The Pirates, 2-5 against the Reds, loaded the bases with two outs in the third, but Harang got Rob Mackowiak to fly out. They had two on with one out an inning later, but pinch-hitter Bobby Hill struck out and Tike Redman grounded into a force play.

Vogelsong (1-3) walked six in four innings while losing his third in a row, giving up three runs and four hits. He has allowed 23 hits and 18 runs in 12 innings during his losing streak, which includes two losses to the Cubs in which he believes he tipped his pitches.

"I'm tired of being average, of pitching below average," said Vogelsong, who has a 9.00 ERA. "My stuff is too good right now to get hit hard like that. This is my fourth start, and I feel I've had great stuff three times, and that's what's frustrating."

After Vogelsong left, Dunn took advantage of second baseman Jose Castillo's throwing error on a grounder by Casey - hitting a two-run double in the seventh. Castillo ranged far to his left to make a diving stop, only to make a wild throw.

Pittsburgh scored in the fifth on Jack Wilson's triple and Jason Kendall's RBI groundout. Jack Wilson matched a career high with four hits in his 10th multiple-hit game this season, raising his average to .397.