Giants pick up Reds starter Leake

[July 31, 2015]  (Reuters) - The San Francisco Giants made a deal for one of the hottest pitchers in baseball on Thursday by acquiring right-handed starter Mike Leake in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Giants sent minor league players Keury Mella and Adam Duvall to the Reds in exchange for the red-hot Leake. The 27-year-old has surrendered just two runs in his last four starts, two of them shutouts. He is 9-5 with a 3.56 ERA this season and should bolster the rotation of the defending World Series champions. San Francisco (56-45) trail the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by a half-game. Cincinnati (46-54) are 18 games behind NL Central leaders St Louis and the deal comes about a week after they traded away ace pitcher Johnny Cueto to Kansas City. (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford) [© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.