In his first three starts Cueto gave up five runs in 21 1/3 innings but was 0-2 because his teammates couldn’t find home plate if they were standing on it.
Cueto guarded a 1-0 lead for seven innings, a run the Reds scored in the first inning without a hit. Then Cueto ignited the bottom of the seventh with a single and scored on Joey Votto’s fourth home run.
So the Reds, who had lost two out of three in each of their first four series, won this one two games to one before embarking on a 10-day trip that begins Friday in Chicago, continues to Pittsburgh and finishes in Atlanta.
Cueto gave up a single, a double and an infield single. Andrew McCutchen, who doubled in the fourth, was the only Pirate to reach second base. After Jordy Mercer’s infield hit in the fifth, Cueto retired the final 13 straight, and for the game he struck out 12, his career high.
His catcher, Cuban-born Brayan Pena, who drove in the game’s last run with a double in the eighth, described Cueto perfectly.
“When you say Johnny Cueto, that’s a heavy pitcher, man,” said Pena. And he didn’t mean his weight. He meant his impact. “That’s the guy everybody knows who he is, everybody recognizes him, especially with that hair, it’s hard to miss that hair.
“He just competes and competes and competes,” Pena added. “He goes out there and he battles and his comfort level is very high. You know whatever you put down as a signal he trusts and he throws.”
Said Reds manager Bryan Price, “It was ‘Welcome Back Johnny Cueto Day.’ He has been great his first three starts and was dominant today. That was great for us because we were looking to win our first series.
“Pittsburgh is a handful and always is,” Price added. “Cueto, though, works well with (catcher) Brayan Pena, working both sides of the plate.”
And there was no doubt that Cueto was destined for his seventh career complete game. There was no action in the bullpen and no stirring in the dugout, especially after the Reds increased their lead from 1-0 to 4-0 late in the game.
“He would have gone out there no matter what because he is our ace and he is our No. 1,” said Price. “We have an outstanding bullpen, but it was his game for me. I wouldn’t have let the game get out of control in the ninth, but he was starting the ninth no matter what.”
And Cueto finished with a flourish — strikeout, strikeout, fly to right.
The Reds took advantage of the first-inning wildness of Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano. The Reds had a run before they had an official at-bat.
Liriano walked Billy Hamilton and Hamilton quickly stole second and took third on a wild pitch in the dirt. Liriano walked Votto and when he threw another wild pitch in the dirt Hamilton scored.
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