The game boiled down to two key pitches. Bronson Arroyo couldn't execute his pitch. Justin Masterson was able to execute his.
Reds' starting pitchers had not lost in 15 games before the Reds and Indians hooked up in Cleveland.
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The starting five and Tony Cingrani combined for a perfect 9-0 record, a 1.95 ERA and 12 quality starts.
One pitch ruined the streak.
Indians designated hitter, Jason Giambi, lined a pitch from Bronson Arroyo into the seats in rightfield with two fellow tribesmen aboard to provide the big blow in Cleveland's 5-2 win over its neighbors from the south.
Arroyo got the first two batters of the sixth inning out. Asdrubal Cabrera, one of seven lefthanders that Cleveland stacked in its lineup, singled. Nick Swisher followed suit.
Giambi faced Arroyo 21 times coming into the at bat; twice early in this game.
"I tried to sweep a breaking ball inside to Giambi," Arroyo said. "It just spun and stayed out over the plate. Even so, he didn't get it all. It jammed him a little. It just goes to show you that four more inches inside and he would have probably popped it up. He's a big strong guy, who has faced me a lot. It is a guessing game back and forth with him. He beat me tonight."
Masterson faced Xavier Paul with the bases loaded and no outs. The Cleveland righthander fooled Paul into hitting a checked-swing one hopper to the mound into a home to first double play.
"Masterson threw me back-to-back changeups. He completely caught me off guard," said Paul, who was facing Masterson for the sixth time. "He had never thrown me a changeup before. I watched video on him and didn't know he had one. I thought he was a two-pitch pitcher with a fastball and slider. He got me on a half swing. He threw some great pitches to get out of that inning. He has great stuff. If a pitcher can throw 93 and throw a changeup like that it's tough."
Masterson, who is from Beavercreek, Ohio, won his eighth game.
"Masterson is one of the hottest pitchers in baseball," Dusty Baker said. "Paul has had some big hits for us. It was a checked swing at the wrong time. Usually there is a pitch or play in a game that turns it around."
Joey Votto hit his 10th home run off Justin Masterson in the first. Mark Reynolds tied it with a home run off Arroyo in the third.
Cleveland hit three consecutive doubles and added a walk but scored just one run in the fourth inning, while taking a slim 2-1 lead. Cabrera double with one out. Swisher doubled Cabrera home. Giambi doubled to rightcenter on a line drive that short-hopped the wall. Swisher didn't read it well off the bat and didn't run until it cleared Shin-Soo Choo's glove. Choo, who played in this park for six seasons, got to it quickly. He fired to Brandon Phillips, who made a quick pivot and strong throw to Ryan Hanigan to get Swisher easily. On ball four to Carlos Santana, Giambi for some reason tried to beat Todd Frazier to thirdbase on a steal attempt. Hanigan threw Giambi out to end the inning.
Giambi has 20 stolen bases in his 18-year career. He had two stolen bases for Colorado in 2010. It was the 12th time he's been caught stealing and the first time since 2008.
The play bailed Arroyo out.
"I didn't have a whole lot of weapons coming into the game," Arroyo said. "To get seven lefties out, I needed a tight breaking ball. It forced me to tip my hand early. I struck Giambi out on a sinker early in the game. It was a pitch I would normally save until later in the game in a key situation."
Paul hit his third home run of the year off Vinnie Pestano in the ninth.
"I told my teammates, I wish I would have hit that with the bases loaded," Paul said.
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