PITTSBURGH — Poor control and the inability to hold runners made for a bad combination for Charlie Morton.

The Pirates’ right-hander remained winless in five starts this season as he walked five batters in six innings and allowed the Reds to steal four bases in Cincinnati’s 5-2 win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.

Morton said the Reds’ aggressiveness did not distract him and pointed to the bases on balls as his downfall, saying he missed his target by as much as three feet on some pitches.

“When you know that a team is aggressive, obviously you’re cognizant of the fact they’re going to run, but I try not to let those things affect me in the sense of making pitches,” Morton said. “I’ve got to get the guy out at home plate first.”

Morton (0-3) gave up four runs — three earned — and four hits with four strikeouts.

“I was yanking my fastball all night,” he said. “There were times where I was trying to go inside on left-handed hitters and missing in the right-handed batter’s box. I was literally missing by three feet.”

Alfredo Simon pitched into the seventh inning despite erratic control early and Jay Bruce drove in a run to help the Reds send the Pirates to their ninth loss in 12 games.

Bruce had two hits and knocked in the final run of the decisive three-run fifth inning against Morton that gave the Reds a 4-2 lead. Billy Hamilton also had two hits for Cincinnati, which has won seven of 10 games since a 3-7 start.

“We took advantage of what we could because this is team that might not give you a lot most nights,” Bruce said. “We tried to put some pressure on the defense.”

Andrew McCutchen had two hits and homered for the third consecutive night for the Pirates. He has four home runs this season.

“I’m starting to string some good at-bats together,” McCutchen said. “It was a bit of a struggle early but I’m starting to feel pretty good now.”