Giants 5, Reds 3
SAN FRANCISCO -- Third baseman Matt Duffy drove in two runs with a first-inning double, and seven pitchers combined to hold the Cincinnati Reds to seven hits Monday night, lifting the San Francisco Giants to their fourth consecutive win, a 5-3 triumph in the opener of a three-game series.
Duffy, center fielder Angel Pagan and first baseman Brandon Belt had two hits apiece as the Giants built a 4-0 lead and held on for their fourth victory against the Reds this season in five head-to-heads.
The win temporarily allowed the Giants (76-68) to pull within seven games of the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (82-60), who were playing a late game against the Colorado Rockies.
Right-hander Tim Hudson and six relievers combined on the seven-hitter, which included a two-run home run by Reds right fielder Jay Bruce that got Cincinnati within 4-3 in the seventh inning.
Right-hander Sergio Romo retained the one-run advantage with a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and closer Santiago Casilla escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth for his 33rd save.
The Giants gave Casilla a bit of a cushion by adding a fifth run in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a two-base error by Reds shortstop Eugenio Suarez and a sacrifice fly by Belt.
The RBI was the second of the night for Belt, who had a run-scoring triple in the Giants' two-run third inning against Reds starter Keyvius Sampson.
Sampson (2-5) left the game after the inning with a sore right shoulder.
Right-hander George Kontos (3-2), the third Giants pitcher, was credited with the win despite having faced just one batter in the fifth inning.
The win was the Giants' 25th in their last 33 home games.
Catcher Ramon Cabrera had four of the Reds' seven hits, including a double. He singled to open the Cincinnati seventh and scored ahead of Bruce's homer, his 21st of the season.
Following an inning-opening single by Suarez, Cabrera also singled in the ninth to put the potential tying runs on base with no outs.
But Casilla struck out pinch-hitters Skip Schumaker and Tucker Barnhart, then got Bruce to line out to the warning track in right field to end it.
Coming off a 5-5 homestand that included three wins over the first-place St. Louis Cardinals, the Reds (60-83) were playing the opener of a nine-game trip.
Hudson was pulled one out into the fifth inning despite the fact he was pitching a shutout and enjoyed a four-run lead.
The Reds had the bases loaded at the time, and they scored their first run two batters later when first baseman Joey Votto drew a bases-loaded walk off Giants left-hander Javier Lopez.
Kontos came on to retain the 4-1 lead by getting Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips to ground out.
Hudson was charged with one run. He allowed three hits and three walks, and struck out one.
The Giants sent Sampson to the showers two innings earlier. He was roughed up for four runs (three earned) on five hits in three innings. He walked two and did not strike out a batter.
Four of the five hits surrendered by Sampson went for extra bases, including a two-run double by Duffy in the first inning, an RBI triple by Belt in the third and a run-scoring double by right fielder Marlon Byrd later in the inning.
Duffy's second double ignited the two-run third.
NOTES: The Reds are scheduled to start three rookies -- RHP Keyvius Sampson, LHP John Lamb and RHP Michael Lorenzen -- in the series. At the other end of the spectrum, the Giants' starters Monday and Wednesday -- RHP Tim Hudson and RHP Jake Peavy -- have 31 years of major league experience between them. ... Giants manager Bruce Bochy disclosed before the game that 2B Joe Panik had an MRI on his sore lower back Monday and likely is out for the season. ... Both clubs announced injured players: Reds C Brayan Pena (strained right hamstring) and Giants SS Brandon Crawford (strained oblique and calf) could return by the end of the three-game series.