Ian Snell dropped to 0-2 as he was outdueled by Harang, who limited the Pirates to three hits. He struck out nine and walked none.

"That's vintage Harang," second baseman Freddy Sanchez said. "He's always tough to face. (Yesterday) he was spotting everything, making it real tough. It takes away from Snell, who went out there and threw a great game."

Snell's second outing of the season was marred by a two-run first inning. Reds cleanup hitter Brandon Phillips homered on a 2-2 fastball to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. After that, Snell was solid. He allowed five hits and struck out seven.

The Pirates never recovered from the early deficit. Left fielder Nyjer Morgan's single and double, and right fielder Brandon Moss's single accounted for the Pirates' only offense.

"(Snell) threw the ball very well for us, well enough to win, but unfortunately he faced a guy that's pretty much on," Pirates manager John Russell said.

Sanchez described Harang's prowess best when he said that Harang was "painting" with his pitches. When asked what worked best for Harang during his 12th complete game and sixth shutout of his career, Russell simply said, "everything."

A day after the Pirates had 12 hits en route to a 10-2 victory over the Reds, the Pirates had no answers at the plate. It took Harang 108 pitches -- 80 for strikes ? to get through nine innings. Snell's pitch count hit 104 before he was removed after six innings.

"I don't think any of us really felt comfortable in the box," Sanchez said. "I think it was one of those deals he was hitting corners and just spotting up."

Complete games have become a rarity in Major League Baseball, but much more infrequent is the triple play.

Triple plays are so rare, in fact, that Sanchez had never been involved in one. Neither had Moss. Snell was in Triple-A the last time he saw one. Wilson last accomplished the feat in T-ball, joking that it was "one of the highlights of my career."

The eighth-inning triple play was the first turned by the Pirates since 1993. This one started with a shallow fly ball hit by Edwin Encarnacion. Wilson shifted back and to his right before he caught the ball deep on the infield dirt. Jay Bruce was on first and Phillips was on second, but both runners had taken off on a double steal by the time Jesse Chavez's 0-2 pitch reached the plate.

Wilson made the catch and threw the ball to Sanchez at second before Sanchez finished the 6-4-3 play with a throw to first. Phillips was out at second and Bruce out at first as neither could get back in time.

"Those things are obviously a lot nicer when you win," Sanchez said. "It's just one of those deals where the triple play and double play doesn't overtake what we didn't do offensively."

The double play Sanchez referenced was a spectacular grab Wilson made in the sixth. Diving to his glove side, Wilson fielded a hard-hit grounder by Ramon Hernandez before using his glove to shovel the ball to Sanchez. It took a good effort on Sanchez's behalf to turn the 6-4-3 double play.

"Jack's pretty energetic on the field," Russell said. "He's capable of making plays like that. You can't teach that."

The fielding plays, along with Snell's, effort are two of several reasons Wilson said the Pirates can "take a lot of positives" from the loss and be optimistic heading into the home opener today against the Houston Astros.

"We seem to be in very good shape going into our homestand, which is important," Russell said. "We come out of this road trip very good as far as that goes."

How they scored

Reds first inning (Ian Snell pitching): Willy Taveras doubled. With two outs, Brandon Phillips homered (No. 1) to left. Reds 2, Pirates 0