Indians 5, Reds 2
Justin Masterson became the fourth pitcher to reach eight victories this season and Jason Giambi smacked a three-run homer as host Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak.
Giambi finished 2-for-4 and cranked his 433rd career homer to right on a 2-1 pitch with two outs in the sixth off Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo (5-5). Masterson (8-3) scattered four hits and worked around four walks in six innings, allowing one run while striking out seven.
Mark Reynolds also homered for the Indians, who improved to 16-10 at home. Joey Votto homered for Cincinnati, which lost for only the second time in nine games.
Votto’s solo homer to center gave the Reds a 1-0 first-inning lead, but Reynolds knotted the score at 1 with his 13th homer leading off the third. Nick Swisher’s double to center in the fourth scored Asdrubal Cabrera with the go-ahead run as Arroyo allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Cabrera and Swisher also finished with two hits. Cincinnati’s Brandon Phillips went 2-for-4 and Xavier Paul added a solo homer in the ninth.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Masterson became the third Cleveland pitcher to win eight times in his team’s first 51 games (Greg Swindell, 1988; Charles Nagy, 1996). … Reynolds has reached base safely in 41 of his 51 games. … Votto finished 1-for-4, his average dipping to .352.