National League Game Summary - San Francisco at Cincinnati

Cincinnati, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Brandon Belt had three hits including his third home run in the series, and Nori Aoki drove in three runs to help the San Francisco Giants earn a 9-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds and win this four-game series.

Hunter Pence also homered, and the San Francisco bullpen had to pitch seven innings after Chris Heston was knocked out after throwing two-plus frames, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks.

The win was awarded to Yusmeiro Petit (1-0) after he allowed one run in three innings.

"It was a hard-fought game," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "They punched back, and we punched back."

Reds starter Anthony DiSclafani (2-4) did not fare much better than Heston, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. Jay Bruce hit his seventh home run of the season in a three-hit game, and Brandon Phillips also went deep.

"I was falling behind guys and leaving balls over the plate," said DiSclafani.

With runners on the corners in the second, Brandon Crawford chopped a ball up the middle that was fielded by Zack Cozart. His shovel pass to Phillips pulled him off the bag, allowing the first run of the game to score.

After a video review and 24-minute rain delay, Gregor Blanco resumed the game with an RBI double, and Aoki's two-run single gave the Giants a 4-0 lead.

After Billy Hamilton drove in a run, Pence's homer put San Francisco up 6-1, but Cincinnati got back into the game with a big third. The Reds already had two runs in when Bruce came to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. He crushed a ball to right field, but he missed a home run by a few feet and had to settle for a long single and one RBI. Hamilton's sacrifice fly capped off the four-run frame.

San Francisco added a run in the fifth on Matt Duffy's RBI single, but the Reds responded quickly when Phillips hit his second home run of the season, just over the left-field wall. A single by Hamilton and double by Skip Schumaker with two outs gave Cincinnati a chance to tie or go ahead, but Cozart's popout back to Petit ended the threat.

The Giants scored an insurance run in the seventh when Aoki executed a squeeze bunt with two outs to score Crawford, who slid into home before Todd Frazier's throw could reach the plate.

Cincinnati made it a one-run game again on Bruce's solo home run to center field off Jeremy Affeldt, but San Francisco extended its lead back to two in the eighth when Belt hit a home run for the third straight game.

The Giants gave that run right back in the eighth with poor defense. With two outs and Brayan Pena on first, Joey Votto sent a ball into shallow left field. Aoki attempted a sliding catch, but the ball bounced past him to allow Pena to advance to third. After retrieving the ball, Crawford's throw to third bounced off Pena's helmet into foul play, allowing the Reds' catcher to score and cut the Giants' lead to 9-8.

The Giants had a chance in the ninth when they loaded the bases against Aroldis Chapman, but he got Buster Posey to pop up to second base to end the threat.

It only took nine pitches for Santiago Casilla to strike out the side and record his ninth save.