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Cueto pitches Reds past Indians

Jun 29, 2008 - 3:20 AM By Todd Krepop PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cincinnati Reds got out of a jam and the Cleveland Indians did not. In the eyes of Reds manager Dusty Baker, that was the difference.

Johnny Cueto pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the Reds shut out the Indians, 5-0, on Saturday night.

Paul Bako drove in three runs as Cincinnati won the second game of the three-game set against their intrastate rival and clinched the season series.

The Reds swept the Indians in a three-game series at home in May.

Cueto (6-8) didn't look like a pitcher who had lost his previous three starts. The rookie righthander dominated a sickly Indians' offense, holding the Indians to four hits while striking out five.

"I have been working on my slider and changeup," said Cueto through an interpreter. "Tonight they were working well."

"(Cueto) threw a great game," Baker said. "He had an outstanding tempo going. He threw the ball inside and that opened up the outside."

Bill Bray, David Weathers, Jared Burton and Francisco Cordero finished off the seven-hit shutout by pitching the final 2 2/3 innings.

Cueto was threatened in the second when Cleveland loaded the bases, but Cueto struck out Sal Fasano on a slider to end the inning.

"That was big," Baker said. "(Cueto) got out of that jam and cruised from there."

Two innings later, Cueto received some run support from his batterymate as Bako's three-run double in the fourth increased the Reds' lead to 4-0.

Joey Votto singled with one out and Jeff Keppinger followed with a walk. Jay Bruce blooped a single to left, but Indians starter Paul Byrd looked like he might get out of the jam after inducing a comebacker to the mound for the force at home.

But Bako, who was hitless in his 15 previous at-bats, laced Byrd's 0-1 offering down the left field line to clear the bases.

"That was a big hit," Baker said. "We have been missing that lately."

"For me, that was what the game came down to," Byrd said. "I hung a curveball and he did a good job slapping it down the line."

Byrd (3-9) yielded four runs on six hits in six innings. The veteran righthander has lost his last four starts and six of his last seven decisions.

Adam Dunn's solo home run in the first gave the Reds an early 1-0 lead. Dunn lined Byrd's 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for his 19th home run of the year.

The run held up as Cleveland finished the night going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners.

"We didn't do a particularly good job against their starter," Indians manager Eric Wedge said. "We had some chances we let slip away. It was a 4-0 game most of the night. I felt like we could have eased our way back into it, but we didn't."