Steven Duggar's slam highlights Giants' 19-4 rout of Reds

[May 21, 2021]  Steven Duggar's grand slam highlighted a nine-run third inning, while Brandon Crawford, Darin Ruf and Evan Longoria also homered as the San Francisco Giants completed a four-game road sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with Thursday's 19-4 rout.

Crawford, Ruf and Longoria combined for 10 hits and 11 RBIs.

Ruf clubbed a two-run homer in the third for one of his four hits, while Crawford (three hits) delivered a three-run shot in the fifth and had six RBIs for the Giants in their highest-scoring contest since a 23-5 win at Colorado on Sept. 1, 2020.

Former Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto (3-1) gave up only a third-inning RBI single to Nick Castellanos among five hits. He walked one and struck out four for San Francisco, which has won five straight and swept a series at Cincinnati of any duration for the first time since 1999.

Castellanos, among the major league leaders batting .347, had two hits to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Eugenio Suarez's two-run homer in the eighth was his ninth for the Reds, who have lost six of eight and allowed their most runs at home since a 19-5 loss to Montreal on May 7, 1978.

San Francisco opened the scoring in the first on Longoria's two-out RBI single to center field off Tyler Mahle (2-2).

Two innings later, the Giants broke things open when the first seven batters reached. Mahle was pulled after facing six hitters in the inning, and charged with seven runs, plus seven hits and two walks while recording just six outs in his shortest outing of the season.

San Francisco Giants first baseman Darin Ruf (33) is safe at second against Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India (6) after hitting a double in the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Crawford, Alex Dickerson and Mauricio Dubon each recorded RBI singles in the frame before Duggar's homer well over the center-field fence off Michael Feliz for his second of the season. Ruf's blast off Ryan Hendrix concluded the scoring in the third for the Giants, who have the majors' best record at 28-16.

San Francisco added four more runs in the fifth, highlighted by Crawford's three-run homer to right field. Longoria's two-run drive into the right-center field seats was part of a four-run seventh for the Giants.

--Field Level Media

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