Rafael Devers delivered the loudest swing of the night, and the San Francisco Giants rode it to a clean 5-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.
Devers hammered a three-run homer, Drew Gilbert kept finding gaps with a pair of doubles, and the Giants broke through early against Reds ace Chase Burns before cruising through a game that turned into a bullpen parade after starter Carson Whisenhunt left with an injury.
San Francisco scored all five of its runs in the first two innings and snapped a four-game losing streak while opening a week-long homestand.
The game took a sharp turn in the third inning when Whisenhunt, who had been working with that early cushion, felt pain in his left forearm while getting Sal Stewart for the second out of the frame. A trainer came out to check on him, and the left-hander was removed after allowing two hits over 2 2/3 innings.
Jason Foley picked up the final out of the third, and then the Giants’ relief corps stitched together the rest of the shutout. Reiver Sanmartin, Ryan Walker, Carson Seymour and Dylan Smith combined for 6 1/3 innings of three-hit relief as San Francisco finished off a five-hitter and posted its 10th shutout of the season. The Giants also piled up 11 strikeouts, including three from Whisenhunt.
The early damage came fast against Burns. Gilbert lined the fifth pitch of the game for a ground-rule double, Devers followed two pitches later with a single, and Jung Hoo Lee brought home the first run with a single. Turner Hill then doubled in Devers.
San Francisco wasn’t done in the second. Burns retired the first two batters, but Christian Koss singled and Gilbert doubled again before Devers unloaded his 27th home run, pushing the Giants in front 5-0.
Burns was charged with a season-high-tying five runs and a season-high-tying nine hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five before exiting.
The Reds bullpen did what it could after that, with Sam Moll, Julian Garcia and Emilio Pagan combining for 4 1/3 scoreless innings.
Koss, Gilbert and Devers each finished with two hits for the Giants, who had dropped an earlier series in Cincinnati 2-1.
Tyler Stephenson had two of Cincinnati’s five hits, and the Reds were held without an extra-base hit while losing for the third time in four games on their nine-game trip. San Francisco out-hit Cincinnati 10-5 on the night.
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