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Arroyo solid as Reds cruise past Pirates

May 29, 2008 - 3:32 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds needed only one inning to put away the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Arroyo (4-4) pitched six excellent innings and was supported by a six-run first as the Reds posted a 9-1 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday.

Joey Votto went 3-for-3 with with two RBI and three runs scored and David Ross homered and had four RBI for Cincinnati, which has won four of five.

The win was the ninth in a row at home for the Reds, the second longest streak in the majors behind Boston's 10.

"I guess we like the home cooking," Reds shortstop Jerry Hairston Jr. said. "It's a fun place to play and hopefully we can keep it going. It's always good to win at home."

Hairston went 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI to key Cincinnati's offense from the leadoff spot.

The Reds, who have scored 33 runs in their last four games, knocked Pittsburgh starter Tom Gorzelanny out of the game before he could even complete an inning.

With runners on second and third and no outs in the bottom of the first, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to left to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, an RBI double by Edwin Encarnacion and a two-run single by Votto upped the lead to four.

Ross then sent the third pitch he saw from Gorzelanny into the right field stands to make it 6-0. It was the first blast of the season for Ross and ended the night for Gorzelanny (4-5), who surrendered six runs, three hits and four walks in just two-thirds of a frame.

Ross deflected any attention from his success at the plate, directing the attention to the man that he caught for six innings.

"I'm just trying to do what I can to help the team win, but I'd rather talk about Bronson," Ross said. "He does well on short rest, he always seems to do well on short rest."

"I like (throwing on three days rest)," Arroyo said. "Tonight wasn't my best stuff, probably the worst I have felt on three days rest honestly," Arroyo said. "Luckily we got off to a good start, and that allowed me to pitch a lot easier."

The Reds righthander cruised throughout his outing, giving up just two singles - including a run-scoring hit to Pirates reliever Franquelis Osoria in the second - before allowing a double to Xavier Nady in the sixth.

"I've been feeling really good over the last five starts. My body feels good, I feel a lot stronger than I did earlier in the year," Arroyo said.

Arroyo started out the season 1-4 with an 8.63 ERA, but has rebounded over his last five starts, going 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA.

"Bronson's command of the strike zone was outstanding tonight," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

The start came on three days' rest for Arroyo, as the Reds had to shake up the rotation following an 18 inning loss to the Padres in San Diego on Sunday.

The nine-year veteran, who improved to 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in five career starts on short rest, also allowed four walks while striking out six to earn his third straight win.

Ross and Votto added RBI singles in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, before Ross's bases-loaded walk in the seventh plated Brandon Phillips to complete the scoring.