Cincinnati, OH – Mat Latos tossed seven shutout innings for his first win of the season, Brandon Phillips hit a two-run homer and drove in three and the Cincinnati Reds rolled to a 9-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday.
Latos (1-2) gave up four hits and two walks while striking out three and Ryan Ludwick added a solo homer in Cincinnati's fourth win in five games.
The Reds started a nine-game homestand after winning two of three against the Cubs over the weekend to finish 4-6 on a 10-game road trip.
Matt Cain (1-1) struck out seven but gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings for the Giants. The 27-year-old righty had allowed just three hits in his previous two starts, going nine innings in both.
Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning for San Francisco, which was coming off a double-header sweep over the Mets on Monday in New York.
"It was a long night we had last night," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "We got in in the wee hours of the morning. But give [Latos] credit. He threw well."
Latos gave up a leadoff single to Angel Pagan in the first inning but retired the next six batters in a row and stranded a runner at third base in the third inning.
He breezed through the fourth and fifth and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when Nate Schierholtz grounded out to second, going on to record his first win in a Reds uniform.
"It felt really good. Every pitch felt real good coming out of my hand," said Latos.
In the first inning, Drew Stubbs hit a one-out double and Phillips sent the eighth pitch of his two-out at-bat deep over the left-center field wall for his second homer of the season and a 2-0 Reds lead.
They were the first runs allowed by Cain since his first start of the season on April 8, when he yielded five in six innings against Arizona.
Ludwick knocked his third homer of the season into the second deck in left to lead off the seventh inning, and Cain was relieved by Dan Otero with one out.
The Reds then rallied for five more runs in the inning, getting the last four on two-run doubles from Jay Bruce and Scott Rolen.
Game Notes
The Reds won five of the seven meetings with the Giants last season, including the last three...San Francisco went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left five on base.
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