Giants Erase Deficit, Score Five in Seventh to Win 9-6

Coming into Cincinnati after taking down the New York Met ace Noah Syndergaard, the Giants carried their momentum into the first game of a three-game series against the Reds, outslugging the Reds and coming back from down three runs to win 9-6.

Johnny Cueto struggled in his first start back in Cincinnati after being traded last year, allowing six runs over five innings of work, all of which came in a 46-pitch third inning.

The San Francisco offense had Cueto's back, erasing a three-run lead in the top of the seventh by stringing together five consecutive hits, including Brandon Crawford's third home run of the season.

Both of the Brandons had themselves a game,

as Crawford finished the day with two hits and four RBIs while Belt had himself a three-hit day with an RBI of his own.Buster Posey and Kelby Tomlison had a couple of solid days at the plate as well, both racking up two-hit games.

Lost in the offensive flurry was the outstanding work of the San Francisco bullpen. The combined efforts of Javier Lopez, Vin Mazzaro, Josh Osich, and Santiago Casilla didn't allow a single run after Cueto's departure, maintaining the three-run deficit and holding the three-run lead.

The Recap

San Francisco jumped out to an early lead in the second inning, putting up three runs to establish the first lead of the game. With one out and the bases loaded, Cueto gave the Giants a two-run lead, driving in Brandon Belt and Mac Williamson on a single that slid under the glove of Votto and Brandon Phillips. The next at-bat, Denard Span grounded out to second to drive in Tomlinson from third and extend the lead to 3-0.

The lead wasn't safe for long, as Cincinnati got right back at San Francisco, putting up a six-spot against Cueto in the bottom of the third. Billy Hamilton drove in Tucker Barnhart and turned a single into a double in the process, decreasing Cincinnati's deficit to 3-1.

Cueto walked Ivan De Jesus Jr., Joey Votto got revenge on Cueto after striking out in the first, crushing a three-run home run to center field to give Cincinnati a one-run lead.

The Reds weren't quite done yet on offense, as Jay Bruce tripled home Brandon Phillips and Scott Schebler singled home Bruce, giving the Reds a 6-3 lead.

The Giants and the Reds traded zeros in the fourth, fifth, and sixth, and by the seventh, both Cueto and Finnegan were out of the game.

Finnegan turned the ball over to the Cincinnati bullpen, which came into the game having allowed a run in 19 consecutive games and the highest ERA of any bullpen in the majors.

In the hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark, the Giants jumped all over the opportunity to, once again, exploit the Reds' bullpen, putting up five runs the inning after Finnegan's departure to jump out to a two-run lead.

J.C. Ramirez was the first victim to feel the wrath of the San Francisco offense. With one out, Buster Posey singled, and Hunter Pence doubled to set the table for Belt, who drove Posey in to bring the game within two runs.

Gregor Blanco pinch-hit for Mac Williamson and made his at-bat count, singling to right to drive in Pence and advance Belt to third, cutting the Cincinnati lead to only one.

Reds' manager Bryan Price replaced Ramirez with Drew Hayes to face Brandon Crawford, and on Hayes's fourth pitch, the Silver Slugger homered to right-center, bringing home Belt, Blanco, and himself to give San Francisco the 8-6 lead.

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