Houston overwhelmed Cincinnati from start to finish, riding Mike Burrows' dominant pitching and a five-homer attack to a 10-0 victory at Great American Ball Park. The Astros broke open what had been a quiet game with six runs in the final two innings.
Burrows controlled the Reds throughout his seven-inning start, allowing just three hits while striking out six. The right-hander walked one and never faced serious trouble, earning his second win of the season. His ERA stands at 5.04.
The scoring began in the second when Dezenzo homered to right, bringing Matthews home for a 2-0 lead. Alvarez extended the margin in the sixth with a two-run homer to right center that scored Altuve. The game remained manageable for Cincinnati until the eighth, when Paredes grounded out to second to score Altuve and make it 5-0.
The ninth inning sealed Cincinnati's fate. Cole homered to right, scoring Smith and Matthews for his first career three-RBI game. Vazquez followed with a solo shot to left center, and Whitcomb capped the scoring with an RBI single that brought Allen home. Nick Lodolo took the loss, allowing four runs over 5.1 innings with two strikeouts.
Houston snapped a one-game losing streak to improve to 15-23. Cincinnati extended its losing streak to six games and fell to 20-17.