PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have been searching for solid, lengthy starts.

One wasn't expected Saturday, but there it was. Ivan Nova was impressive in his Pirates debut to give them exactly what they have been looking for in a 5-3 win against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on Saturday.

The right-hander surrendered three runs through seven innings in his first start since being acquired from the New York Yankees at the trade deadline.

Pittsburgh (55-53) has taken the first two games of the series against Cincinnati (44-65) with two strong outings from its starting pitchers. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he wasn't surprised to see Nova thrive in his debut.

"This guy's pitched for a lot of years, in New York City," Hurdle said. "So, he's done some things. He's just trying to find more consistency and get the opportunity. He wants to pitch with an edge and he was able to show that tonight."

Left fielder Starling Marte led Pittsburgh's offense by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Andrew McCutchen, John Jaso and Francisco Cervelli each added an RBI.

Nova quickly retired the Reds in six of his seven innings, facing four batters or fewer, but allowed two runs in the second.

Brandon Phillips led off the Reds' second with a home run, his first since May 7, to snap a career-long drought of 286 at-bats without a homer. Tucker Barnhart drove in Eugenio Suarez from second three batters later, giving Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.

Phillips got to Nova again in the seventh for another solo homer that cut Pittsburgh's lead to 5-3.

Despite Phillips' fireworks, Nova was efficient, particularly in the fifth inning when he struck out the side on 10 pitches. He said before the game he wanted to come right at the Reds, and didn't shy away from that once he took the mound, where his new teammates made him feel comfortable

"A little bit aggressive in the strike zone. Got a lot of strikes and got quick outs," Nova said. "We have great teammates and a great coaching staff, and a guy behind the plate (Cervelli) that I know really well."

Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton had a chance to spoil Nova's debut when he faced Neftali Feliz with runners on second a third and no outs in the top of the eighth. Hamilton sharply grounded to third baseman Jung Ho Kang, who stepped on third base and tossed to second to pull off a highlight-reel double play, preserving the Pirates' lead.

Reds manager Bryan Price said Kang's stop was a clear turning point.

"If it gets past the third baseman, it's on," Price said. "Worst-case scenario we have second and third with a runner in, maybe better than that. You've got to tip your hat to Kang because it was a great play. It might not have been a game saver but it was a game changer."

Nova's opponent on the mound didn't fare as well.

Homer Bailey had a rough outing in only his second start of the season for the Reds. After allowing two earned runs in a serviceable 5 2/3 innings against the San Diego Padres on July 31, Bailey lacked control Saturday.

Bailey allowed Pittsburgh to score the opening run in the bottom of the first when McCutchen followed Marte's double with an RBI single to center field.

After the Reds scored twice in the top of the second to take a 2-1 advantage, Bailey couldn't make the lead last.

Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison led off the third with a drag bunt to third that Suarez threw into right field, allowing Harrison to reach second.

After hitting David Freese to load the bases with two outs, Bailey hit John Jaso, tying the score 2-2. Cervelli's infield single drove in a third run before Bailey, with his 70th pitch through three innings, got Jordy Mercer to fly out.

Bailey left after allowing consecutive hits to Nova and Harrison to start the bottom of the fourth. Josh Smith came in, threw a wild pitch and then allowed Marte to drive in the two runners with a single to center, pushing Pittsburgh's lead to 5-2.

After the game, Bailey said he dealt with pain caused by his recovery from lingering elbow injuries throughout his start.

"There wasn't acute pain but I just didn't feel very good," Bailey said. "I couldn't finish my pitches. I knew before the game it might be a problem, but I was hoping to throw enough pitches to get us through until we could get the lead to the bullpen. I know this is part of recovery process but it doesn't feel good when you cost your team the game. The bullpen pitched great but the starter didn't."

NOTES: Coming off a 3-2 loss to the Pirates, the Reds used the same lineup they fielded Friday. The lone exception came on the mound, where RHP Homer Bailey made his second start of the season. ... Cincinnati struggled offensively Friday, generating six hits off of Pirates rookie RHP Jameson Taillon. 2B Brandon Phillips was the lone Red to provide a substantial offensive spark with two hits, a walk and one RBI in four at-bats. ... Reds RF Scott Schebler was granted another crack at the Pirates on Saturday after striking out three times in four at-bats Friday. He was batting .215 through 31 games of his second major league season entering Saturday. ... The Pirates traded RHP Arquimedes Caminero to the Seattle Mariners on Saturday for a player to be named later. ... Caminero's departure opened a spot in Pittsburgh's bullpen. LHP Jeff Locke is the likely candidate to move out of the starting rotation after allowing five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings pitched during his last start, an 8-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. ... Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen started a second straight game after being benched in each of the previous three games. He went 0-for-2 with two walks Friday.