That was all the offense that Romano needed in the best start of his young Major League career. The rookie right-hander shut down the slumping Pirates offense, allowing five hits and striking out six without a walk over a career-high eight innings. Romano has posted a 2.10 ERA over his past six starts, all but one of them wins for Cincinnati.
Andrew McCutchen broke up the Reds' shutout with a ninth-inning homer off Kevin Shackelford, his 26th of the season.