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Reds hold off Giants, snap three-game slide

Apr 27, 2008 - 5:55 AM SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) -- Brandon Phillips and the Cincinnati Reds broke out in a big way against the San Francisco Giants Saturday night at AT&T Park.

Phillips drove in three runs as the Reds held off a ninth-inning rally, snapping a three-game losing streak with a 10-9 victory over the Giants.

Cincinnati carried a 10-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth with reliever Todd Coffey on the mound. But Hill was unable to seal the deal as Steven Holm hit a leadoff double and scored on Jose Castillo's RBI double.

After Coffey walked Fred Lewis, Reds manager Dusty Baker called on closer Francisco Cordero, who was greeted by Eugenio Velez's two-run triple to cut the deficit to 10-8. Velez scored one batter later on Randy Winn's' RBI groundout.

"We kept fighting back. I can't say anything about how they fought," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We got down, came back, got it close, we just couldn't stop them. They had quite a rally there in the ninth. They were fighting the whole game. We made some mistakes there that cost us a couple runs."

But Cordero settle down to shut the door for this third save of the season, getting Daniel Ortmeier and Ray Durham for the final two outs.

"You don't want to put the tying run on base, and with one swing, you can lose the game," Cordero said. "I'm just going to go with my best stuff. I got ahead with the fastball and threw a couple change-ups. It's a game where they are trying to come back.

"They have been playing pretty good the last couple of games and they scored four runs right there. Any mistake and it would have tied the game. They got (Bengie) Molina on deck and I just have to go right at them and I'm trying to get them out."

Phillips had a run-scoring single in the first and an RBI double in the third off Giants reliever Brad Hennessey (1-1) for a 3-2 lead.

Hennessey entered the game in the opening frame after starter Kevin Correia exited with a left oblique strain while facing Reds slugger Ken Griffey, Jr.

Paul Bako's RBI single snapped a 3-3 tie in the fourth and Edwin Encarnacion added a run-scoring double an inning later to give Cincinnati a 5-3 advantage.

Bako struck again in the sixth with a solo homer and Ryan Freel scored on a fielder's choice in the inning as the Reds pushed their lead to 7-5.

"Offensively, we had a good night," Bako said. "We get our pitching and offense in sync and I think we'll be alright."

Cincinnati starter Matt Belisle (1-1) gave up four runs and five hits in five innings for his first win this season.

"(Belisle) struggled. But it's nice when he gets some support from your offense," Barker said. "(Friday) we were happy with the way (Aaron) Harang pitched but we lost. When a guy is struggling you got to score some runs."

Lewis and Rich Aurilia both homered for San Francisco, which had its three-game winning streak snapped despite finishing with 10 hits.

"He's (Lewis) playing great," Bochy said. "He's doing everything you would want from a leadoff hitter. He's got pop in his bat, he runs well, he's doing a terrific job."