Manager Bruce Bochy pointed out that the Giants played from behind for almost the entire series, giving up a total of 10 runs in the first inning.

“We got beat up the last couple of games,” Bochy said. “The first inning killed us. Ten runs in the first inning is too much. You’ve got to find a way to fight back.”

Cabrera arrived Sunday after being acquired in a deal with Cleveland on Saturday night. He went 0 for 3. Beltran is 2 for 17 with an RBI since coming over from the Mets on Thursday.

Johnny Cueto pitched a three-hitter and Joey Votto added a three-run homer and tied his career high with five RBIs for the Reds.

Rookie Todd Frazier hit his first career home run and Drew Stubbs had a career-high four hits as the Reds rebounded from being swept by the New York Mets in four games to post three consecutive wins for the first time since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers June 13-15.

Cueto (7-4) missed the first month of the season with irritation in his right upper arm and needed 7 1-3 innings to qualify for the National League ERA lead. He went into the game with a 1.88 ERA and lowered it to 1.72 with his first shutout since beating Pittsburgh 9-0 with a one-hitter on May 11, 2010. The complete game was his third of the season, but he lost the other two. Cueto had one walk with six strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner past first base.

“Give their pitcher credit,” Bochy said. “He pitched great.”

San Francisco left-hander Barry Zito was handed his third straight loss after a stretch in which he won three in a row as the Giants were swept for the fifth time this season and first since losing three straight at Oakland June 17-19.

For the second consecutive game, the Reds grabbed a first-inning lead. Stubbs, Edgar Renteria and Votto all singled to produce one run. After Zito’s wild pitch, Brandon Phillips produced a sacrifice fly, and Jay Bruce singled up the middle for a 3-0 lead.

“The pitches to Renteria and Bruce were up,” Zito said. “They were pitches that didn’t finish.”

The Reds led 5-0 after the first inning on Saturday.

Frazier hit a 1-1 pitch from Zito 368 feet over the left field fence for a 4-0 lead with one out in the fourth inning. The Reds made it 5-0 on Bruce’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Zito (3-4) allowed eight hits and five runs with two walks and four strikeouts. He also threw a wild pitch.

The Reds broke it open in the seventh on Votto’s 414-foot, three-run homer to center field on a full-count pitch from Guilleromo Mota.

The Reds wrapped up the scoring with Stubbs’ double and Votto’s RBI single in the eighth.

The Giants lost twice by eight runs this season. Bochy isn’t concerned, even with Arizona — first-place San Francisco’s closest pursuer in the NL West — coming in for a three-game series. The East-leading Phillies follow for a four-game weekend series.

“This club is resilient,” Bochy said. We’ve been through this before. It’s not easy. There are always going to be bumps in the road, and this was a big one. It’s up to us. We’ve got to go out there and play our best ball. We’ve got the talent. We’ve just got to do it.”

NOTES: San Francisco optioned rookie SS Brandon Crawford to Triple-A Fresno before the game to make room on the roster for newly acquired SS Orlando Cabrera. … After their six-game road trip, the Giants return home for their second 10-game home stand of the season. After the first of their two 10-game home stands, the Reds leave for a six-game trip to Houston and Chicago. … Phillips extended his hitting streak to 10 games (15 for 42, .357), the team’s longest current streak.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

CINCINNATI (AP)—Carlos Beltran(notes) and Orlando Cabrera(notes) could not help their
new teammates this weekend.

The Giants wrapped up a 2-4 road trip with their worst loss of the season on
Sunday, a 9-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds that completed a three-game sweep.

Manager Bruce Bochy pointed out that the Giants played from behind for
almost the entire series, giving up a total of 10 runs in the first inning.

“We got beat up the last couple of games,” Bochy said. “The first inning
killed us. Ten runs in the first inning is too much. You’ve got to find a way to
fight back.”

Cabrera arrived Sunday after being acquired in a deal with Cleveland on
Saturday night. He went 0 for 3. Beltran is 2 for 17 with an RBI since coming
over from the Mets on Thursday.

Johnny Cueto(notes) pitched a three-hitter and Joey Votto(notes) added a three-run homer
and tied his career high with five RBIs for the Reds.

Rookie Todd Frazier(notes) hit his first career home run and Drew Stubbs(notes) had a
career-high four hits as the Reds rebounded from being swept by the New York
Mets in four games to post three consecutive wins for the first time since
sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers June 13-15.

Cueto (7-4) missed the first month of the season with irritation in his
right upper arm and needed 7 1-3 innings to qualify for the National League ERA
lead. He went into the game with a 1.88 ERA and lowered it to 1.72 with his
first shutout since beating Pittsburgh 9-0 with a one-hitter on May 11, 2010.
The complete game was his third of the season, but he lost the other two. Cueto
had one walk with six strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner past first
base.

“Give their pitcher credit,” Bochy said. “He pitched great.”

San Francisco left-hander Barry Zito(notes) was handed his third straight loss
after a stretch in which he won three in a row as the Giants were swept for the
fifth time this season and first since losing three straight at Oakland June
17-19.

For the second consecutive game, the Reds grabbed a first-inning lead.
Stubbs, Edgar Renteria(notes) and Votto all singled to produce one run. After Zito’s
wild pitch, Brandon Phillips(notes) produced a sacrifice fly, and Jay Bruce(notes) singled up
the middle for a 3-0 lead.

“The pitches to Renteria and Bruce were up,” Zito said. “They were
pitches that didn’t finish.”

The Reds led 5-0 after the first inning on Saturday.

Frazier hit a 1-1 pitch from Zito 368 feet over the left field fence for a
4-0 lead with one out in the fourth inning. The Reds made it 5-0 on Bruce’s
sacrifice fly in the fifth.

Zito (3-4) allowed eight hits and five runs with two walks and four
strikeouts. He also threw a wild pitch.

The Reds broke it open in the seventh on Votto’s 414-foot, three-run homer
to center field on a full-count pitch from Guilleromo Mota.

The Reds wrapped up the scoring with Stubbs’ double and Votto’s RBI single
in the eighth.

The Giants lost twice by eight runs this season. Bochy isn’t concerned, even
with Arizona—first-place San Francisco’s closest pursuer in the NL West—
coming in for a three-game series. The East-leading Phillies follow for a
four-game weekend series.

“This club is resilient,” Bochy said. We’ve been through this before. It’s
not easy. There are always going to be bumps in the road, and this was a big
one. It’s up to us. We’ve got to go out there and play our best ball. We’ve got
the talent. We’ve just got to do it.”

NOTES: San Francisco optioned rookie SS Brandon Crawford(notes) to Triple-A Fresno
before the game to make room on the roster for newly acquired SS Orlando
Cabrera. … After their six-game road trip, the Giants return home for their
second 10-game home stand of the season. After the first of their two 10-game
home stands, the Reds leave for a six-game trip to Houston and Chicago. …
Phillips extended his hitting streak to 10 games (15 for 42, .357), the team’s
longest current streak.

CINCINNATI — Johnny Cueto pitched a three-hitter, Joey Votto added a three-run homer and tied his career high with five RBIs and the Cincinnati Reds completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 9-0 win on Sunday.Todd Frazier hit his first career home run and Drew Stubbs had a career-high four hits as the Reds rebounded from being swept by the New York Mets in four games to post three consecutive wins for the first time since sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers June 13-15.Cueto (7-4) missed the first month of the season with irritation in his right upper arm and needed 7 1-3 innings to qualify for the National League ERA lead. He went into the game with a 1.88 ERA and lowered it to 1.72 with his first shutout since beating Pittsburgh 9-0 with a one-hitter on May 11, 2010. The complete game was his third of the season, but he lost the other two. Cueto had one walk with six strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner past first base.San Francisco left-hander Barry Zito was handed his third straight after a stretch in which he won three in a row as the Giants were swept for the fifth time this season and first since losing three straight at Oakland June 17-19. For the second consecutive game, the Reds grabbed a first-inning lead. Stubbs, Edgar Renteria and Votto all singled to produce one run. After Zito’s wild pitch, Brandon Phillips produced a sacrifice fly, and Jay Bruce singled up the middle for a 3-0 lead. The Reds led 5-0 after the first inning on Saturday. Frazier, in the ninth game of his career and eighth after being recalled from Triple-A Louisville on July 22 for the second time this season, hit a 1-1 pitch from Zito 368 feet over the left field fence for a 4-0 lead with one out in the fourth inning. The Reds made it 5-0 on Bruce’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.Zito (3-4) allowed eight hits and five runs with two walks and four strikeouts. He also threw a wild pitch.The Reds broke it open in the seventh on Votto’s 414-foot, three-run homer to center field on a full-count pitch from Guilleromo Mota.The Reds wrapped up the scoring with Stubbs’ double and Votto’s RBI single in the eighth.

It’s not hard to figure why Cincinnati Reds rightfielder Jay Bruce is suddenly the star most predicted he would be. Bruce had a monster May: 12 home runs, 33 RBIs, .342 batting average. For much of the month, Bruce was the only player manning the fort between legitimacy and creeping irrelevance for the Reds in the NL Central.

All he did was ignore bad pitches.

How hard can that be? The strike zone is not a moving target, home plate is forever 17 inches across. It doesn’t change from year to year. Umpires might have their own version of the zone. The shoulders-to-knees geometry is timeless. Also, to some, confounding.

This is Bruce’s fourth season in the majors, and he’s still just 24. At some point, either you figure out the game or you don’t. Bruce isn’t suggesting he has it figured out. He’s not suggesting he doesn’t, either.

“I plan on being a really good player for a long time,” he says. “This is a step.”

It’s not bluster. He has had his head deflated enough already that he knows how fickle the game can be. As a 21-year-old fresh from Triple-A in 2008, Bruce had a ridiculous 15 hits in his first 26 at-bats. He hung out on the plush leather sectional couches in the Reds clubhouse, with Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, reading magazines about big, expensive vehicles. People told him how great he was.

How hard can this be?

Then he hit .223 in June. And .227 in August. He hit .190 against lefthanders. Mostly, he swung at bad pitches. Welcome to The Show, kid.

In 2009, he maintained the pattern. When Bruce connected, the Reds launched fireworks beyond the outfield walls. He hit 22 homers in 345 at-bats, to go along with the 21 he’d hit as a rookie. When Bruce missed, you could feel the breeze across the Ohio River: 110 strikeouts, .223 batting average. He still says now the best thing that happened to him in ’09 was breaking his wrist in July and sitting for two months.

“It allowed me to catch my breath, get some perspective” he says now.

Last year, he hit .281 with 25 homers and played superb defensively in rightfield. And yet, there was still a feeling locally that Bruce was not the player he should be. That changed in May.

Baseball people talk about “making adjustments” and “trusting your approach.” Reds manager Dusty Baker says Bruce is “seeing the ball like a beach ball instead of a golf ball.”

It’s just another way of saying Bruce is evolving into the hitter most thought he would be. It has been as simple as swinging at good pitches. For hitters, it usually is.

“A gigantic difference in the pitches he’s taking and the pitches he’s swinging at,” noted teammate and reigning NL MVP Joey Votto. “He’s not forcing anything.”

Bruce has a broad, loopy, long-hitter’s hack that has been abused on occasion by smart pitching. Let’s throw him this fastball low and in, and watch him foul it off. The breaking stuff just off the plate looks good, until he pops it up.

“I chased pitches,” Bruce explains. “I’m still chasing pitches, sometimes. That was the book: Throw me something I’ll pop up or ground out. It’s been evolving for me, though.” Bruce says he’s “learning to get out of my own way.

“I try to clear my mind and have a plan. When I take (balls) and they throw strikes, I’m in pretty good shape.”

Because he was a top draft pick and was so good immediately, Bruce has had a lot of people telling him how he should hit. Because he is conscientious, he wanted to please them all.

Shorten your stroke. Hit the ball to the opposite field. Watch more video. Be more of a technician, like Votto. “He was trying to be something he’s not,” Votto says.

Which was?

“He pulls the ball,” says Votto. “That’s his strength. He felt a little pressure to drive the ball all over the field. He can do that, but his strength is hitting balls in the middle of the plate, that have some height to them. It’s a maturation thing.”

Lately, Bruce has been listening to Bruce. It seems to be working.

“Swinging at the right pitches,” he says. “Not missing mistakes. Not swinging at pitches (pitchers) want me to swing at. It’s pretty anti-climactic.”

Reds hitting coach Brook Jacoby says Bruce is hitting the good pitches he’s getting: “Earlier, a fastball he should have handled, he was fouling back. Breaking balls he should have let come to him, he was going to get them.

“He has (hit well) before. You’d see bits and pieces. It’s a matter of him being patient and putting the strike zone back together.”

Then Jacoby uttered the key to Bruce’s ongoing education: “It’s on him. He can learn (the game) or he can have trouble. It’s not something magical.”

Bruce got a six-year, $51 million contract in the offseason, a move that raised eyebrows locally, from those who believed Bruce would either (a) become satisfied or (b) press. He has done neither. “The contract was big for him,” says Votto. “It gave him peace of mind. ‘I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going to be sent down.”’

He moved his locker cubicle across the room and next to Votto. The two haven’t followed identical career paths, but fairly close. They’ve been friends awhile. It’s an interesting match: Votto, modest, private, somewhat shy, Canadian; Bruce: open, candid and Texan, with all that being Texan implies.

As a hitter, Votto is a technician and, as he says, “very particular.” About hitting and everything else. Bruce hits “by feel. I’m a see-ball, hit-ball guy.” The two feed off each other’s styles and personalities.

Until now, Votto’s bat has carried the Reds. Now, it’s Bruce’s turn. For as long as he can keep it going. “The main thing is,” says Baker, “don’t figure out when it’s going to stop. It’s like surfing. Catch a good wave and ride it all the way to the beach.”

Bruce doesn’t surf; he’s from near Houston. He knows about riding waves, though. All he has to do is hit good pitches.

Paul Daugherty is a columnist for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

CINCINNATI, June 1 (UPI) — Jay Bruce and Joey Votto hit two-run homers Wednesday and Francisco Cordero earned his 300th career save, bringing the Cincinnati Reds a 4-3 win over Milwaukee.

The Brewers owned a 3-0 lead heading into the seventh but Bruce hit his 17th homer in that inning and Votto put the Reds in front in the eighth.

Cordero then worked a perfect ninth and became the 22nd pitcher in major league history to reach 300 saves. This is his 13th season in the majors and his fourth with the Reds.

The Cincinnati comeback made a winner out of Nick Masset (1-3), who struck out the only batter he faced to end the eighth.

After Shaun Marcum gave up two runs on five hits in seven innings as the Milwaukee starter, Kameron Loe (2-5) served up the homer to Votto and took the loss. It was only the third setback in Milwaukee’s last 12 games.

Cincinnati played a game for the 20th consecutive day, but will have Thursday off.

CINCINNATI —  Entering the bottom of the ninth inning, it looked like the Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day losing streak was set to extend to four years. The Reds had already stranded 10 runners in the first eight innings, and they looked incapable of taking advantage of opportunities. Down to their final three outs with a three-run deficit to close, things looked bleak for Cincinnati.

The empty seats in Great American Ball Park were evidence of fans who gave up on their team’s chances.

But in the Reds’ dugout, hope sprang eternal.

With two runners on and two out, Ramon Hernandez blasted a three-run home run into the Reds’ bullpen to give Cincinnati a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

“We never lose hope,” Hernandez said. “We always have faith.”  

The roller-coaster ninth started with a deep shot by Brandon Phillips that ricocheted off the wall in left field, but an unlucky bounce to Brewers’ left fielder Ryan Braun kept Phillips from advancing past first base. Joey Votto walked to bring Scott Rolen to the plate with runners on first and second.

Rolen hit a bouncer to third baseman Casey McGehee, a ball that looked sure to result in an out. But McGehee elected to try to tag Phillips as he advanced to third. Phillips eluded the tag, and McGehee’s throw to first was too late to oust Rolen.

After a Jay Bruce strikeout by Milwaukee reliever John Axford, Jonny Gomes hit a long fly ball to bring Phillips home.

That’s when Hernandez stepped to the plate to deliver the Reds their first Opening Day victory in four attempts.

“That’s as excited as I’ve been in a long, long time,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “We haven’t won an opener — (Reds owner Bob) Castellini told me — since me and (Reds general manager) Walt (Jocketty) have been here. It didn’t look like we were going to win another one, and then we won it at the end. So there’s (win) No. 1, and hopefully we win a whole lot more.”

Hernandez appeared in just 13-of-32 Spring Training games for the Reds while struggling with injuries, and Baker said he had considered starting Ryan Hannigan at catcher instead.

“Everyone was wondering if Ramon was going to be all right … after missing some time during Spring Training,” Baker said. “He told me, ‘Skip, I’m fine. No problem.’ So I guess he knew what he was talking about.”

Hernandez went 4-for-5 with three singles on the day.

Axford took the loss for Milwaukee (0-1), while Logan Ondrusek picked up the win for Cincinnati after pitching a scoreless inning of relief.

It was a rough day for Cincy starter Edinson Volquez, who surrendered back-to-back home runs to Rickie Weeks and Carlos Gomez to start the game and five runs overall, all earned. The lead-off homer was the first during a season opener for Milwaukee in franchise history, and the back-to-back dingers to kick off the first game of the season was a feat not accomplished since 1969 by the Reds.

Despite surrendering four runs in the first two innings, Volquez was able to go a full six for the Reds.

Baker expressed surprise at the rough start, but was grateful Volquez was able to settle down.

“The main thing is, he kept us in the game,” Baker said. “I didn’t have to go to my bullpen too early. He gave our offense a chance to come back.”

The Brewers got a quality start from Yovani Gallardo, who gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings.

The Reds offense struggled early on. After Drew Stubbs led the home first off with a double, sacrifices by Phillips and Votto brought him home for the first Cincinnati run. The Reds still trailed 3-1.

Cincinnati wouldn’t get another run until the fourth, when Stubbs hit a two-out homer on a 1-1 count to bring the tally to 4-2 Milwaukee.

After Reds reliever Jordan Smith gave up a run in the top of the seventh to give the Brewers a 6-2 lead, Votto got the run back with a towering one-out blast off of Brewers reliever Kameron Loe.

Cincinnati had opportunities to score even more, but couldn’t convert. The Reds stranded two runners in the first inning, one in the second, two in the sixth and left them loaded in the fourth inning.

“You hate to see that,” Baker said. “They were getting some hits with runners in scoring position and we weren’t. But you keep putting them out there and sooner or later something good is going to happen. That’s the key. The key is opportunities. Without them, you don’t have much of a chance.”

NOTES: Votto was recognized prior to the game for being named the 2010 National League Most Valuable Player. … The Reds honored the legacy of former manager Sparky Anderson, who managed the Big Red Machine and led Cincinnati to World Series victories in 1975 and 1976. Anderson died last year at the age of 78. … Pop singer Bryan McKnight and his two sons sang the national anthem. … Retired Cincinnati police chief Tom Striecher threw out the first pitch of the game. …The game was a sellout, with 42,398 in attendance.

MIL    310 010 100—6  9 0

CIN    100 100 104—7 12 1

W — Ondrusek (1-0). L — Axford (0-1). 2B — Nieves (M), Weeks (M), Stubbs (C). HR — Weeks (M), Gomez (M), Braun (M), Stubbs (C), Votto (C), Hernandez (C).

Records — Milwaukee 0-1, Cincinnati 1-0.