By Fitzgerald Cecilio

San Francisco, CA

Bronson Arroyo tossed seven innings of one-hit ball as the Cincinnati Reds inched closer to the National League Championship Series via a 9-0 triumph over the San Francisco Giants Sunday at AT&T Park.

Arroyo (1-0) retired 14 straight batters until Brandon Belt hit a two-out single to right-center field in the fifth inning. After that, he retired seven of his final eight hitters to clinch his first win against the Giants since 2008.

"It's always fun to get a victory in a playoff game," said Arroyo, who finished with four strikeouts and a walk. "I kept these guys off balance. Sometimes you need a little luck. They hit some ground balls that could have maybe been base hits in the infield, and we had some great plays defensively."

Arroyo's amazing performance gave the Reds a 2-0 lead in the National League Division Series. The Reds will go for a sweep Tuesday when the series shifts to the Great American Ballpark with Homer Bailey on the mound against Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong.

History favors the Reds as the team with a 2-0 lead advanced 38 of 42 times since Division Series play began in 1995.

Ryan Ludwick handed Cincinnati a 1-0 lead when he launched Madison Bumgarner's first pitch over the center-field wall for his first postseason home run.

The Reds pounced on Bumgarner (0-1) anew in the fourth with Scott Rolen delivering an RBI single and Ryan Hanigan hitting a two-run single for a 4-0 advantage.

Former two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum provided some temporary relief for the Giants, pitching two scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

The Reds resumed their attack in the eighth, unleashing five runs against relievers Jose Mijares and Guillermo Mota. Mijares issued a two-run double to Jay Bruce while Mota surrendered an RBI single to Hanigan, a run-scoring triple to Drew Stubbs and an RBI double to Brandon Phillips to complete the blowout.

The loss makes it an uphill climb for the Giants as only four teams that trailed 2-0 in a Division Series bounced back to advance to the championship series -- Seattle in 1999, Boston in 1999 and 2003 and New York in 2001.

"We know where we're at right now and our backs are to the wall," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "We have to come out and be ready to play once we get to Cincinnati. I know they know what's at stake, and as I said yesterday, they've done a great job all year at bouncing back."

 

 

Arroyo Helps Reds Overpower Giants, Take 2-0 NLDS Lead