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Cueto dazzles, Reds hammer Giants

Jul 31, 2011 - 10:13 PM Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Johnny Cueto three-hit the Giants for his second career shutout, and the Reds' offense exploded in a 9-0 rout to cap an unlikely three-game sweep of the reigning World Series champions.

The surprising series result comes on the heels of Cincinnati dropping four in a row to the New York Mets and the Giants taking consecutive sets from first- place Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

Cueto (7-4) was masterful in lowering his already microscopic earned run average to 1.72. The majors' ERA leader faced three over the minimum, finishing with one walk and six strikeouts in a 111-pitch gem.

The top four hitters in Cincinnati's lineup all had multi-hit games. Joey Votto highlighted the barrage with a home run and four RBI, Drew Stubbs had four hits and scored three times, and Todd Frazier added a solo homer out of the No. 8 slot.

"We've played great baseball the past three days," Stubbs said. "We got outstanding pitching and scored some runs ... It's a good feeling for us."

Barry Zito (3-4) continued his post All-Star break struggles, surrendering five runs on eight hits over a five-inning start for the Giants, who still sit atop the NL West standings but head into their three-game series against the second-place Arizona Diamondbacks on a sour note.

The Reds got their bats going early, pushing three across in their first turn against Zito, who has yielded 10 first-inning runs over his last three starts -- all losses.

Stubbs opened the inning with a single and scored two batters later on Votto's base hit to right. Edgar Renteria singled in between and trotted home on Brandon Phillips' sacrifice fly to center. Votto later came in on Jay Bruce's liner up the middle.

Frazier, in his 18th career at-bat, cracked his first home run in the fourth frame for a 4-0 lead, and Bruce plated Renteria with a sac fly an inning later.

The way Cueto was pitching, the five-run cushion was plenty for the hosts, though Votto made it a blowout with a three-run blast in the seventh.

Yonder Alonso's RBI single in the eighth capped the scoring, and Cueto, who also tossed seven scoreless innings against the Giants on June 9, struck out Mike Fontenot to close out his fourth career complete game.

"I don't know how many teams would have hit [Cueto] today. He was on," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

Game Notes

Cueto's only other shutout came in a one-hitter against the Pirates on May 11, 2010. He threw 82 of his pitches for strikes...Renteria and Phillips each had two hits. Phillips has a 10-game hitting streak...Zito has a 10.91 ERA after the All-Star break...Orlando Cabrera, acquired in a trade on Saturday, went 0- for-3 in his Giants debut.