Reds Lose Johnny Cueto but Win Opener Against Giants SAN FRANCISCO - What was expected to be an extended pitching duel between two Cy Young Award candidates at a pitching-friendly ballpark was unpredictably unraveled by an eight-pitch performance on one side and an unusually rocky one on the other. Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto walked off the mound while facing his second batter, shaking his head and unable to shake off back spasms. "When Johnny went down, I was, like, Oh, man - we're done," Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips said. But with Cincinnati in unexpected scramble mode, and with the sellout crowd at AT&T Park frothing over San Francisco's apparent advantage in the game, if not the series, Phillips and the Reds peppered the Giants ace Matt Cain and cruised to a 5-2 victory in Game 1 of their National League division series. Game 2 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Sunday evening. "We were just fortunate to win that game, the way we did tonight," Reds Manager Dusty Baker said. Cueto, 19-9 with a 2.78 earned run average in the regular season, said he felt fine until the end of warm-ups in the bullpen. "It was only on the last two throws I felt something," Cueto said through an interpreter. I felt something - sharp pain on my right side. Trainers quickly massaged it with heat, hoping it was a mere cramp. The pitching coach Bryan Price told Baker what happened, and they watched as Cueto struck out San Francisco's first batter, Angel Pagan, and threw two hard strikes to Marco Scutaro. That is when Cueto circled off the mound with a wince and a look of resignation. After a meeting of coaches and trainers, Cueto walked slowly to the dugout. It seemed like a huge break for the Giants. By game's end, it felt like a squandered opportunity. Adding insult to the injury for the Giants, Cueto said his back felt much better after the game, and he said he thought he would be able to start another game this series, if needed. The projected Game 3 starter Mat Latos warmed up as the Giants loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning against Sam LeCure, the first of five Reds relievers and the eventual game winner. Cain, positioned to give himself a cushion, drilled a hard fly to right field that Jay Bruce caught on the move. With the Reds in scramble mode, and the sellout crowd at AT&T Park bubbling like a bottle ready to be uncorked, Phillips upturned everything with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning. He had badly missed a first-pitch curveball, and waited for Cain to offer another. Cain did. The ball ended up in the left-field bleachers. The Reds padded the lead when Bruce smashed a home run to right field to start the fourth inning. Cain was 16-5 with a 2.79 earned run average in the regular season. But two of those losses were to the Reds, and Cain's 75-pitch, five-inning stint Saturday night felt like a mere extension. "He wasn't as sharp as he normally is," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said of Cain. He left a couple of pitches up that they took advantage of, and the ball left the park. Latos, once warmed up, brought confidence built on experience. Traded from San Diego during the off-season, he has routinely pitched well in San Francisco - a 1.67 career earned run average in 43 innings, including a two-hit complete-game victory at AT&T Park in June. He pitched four mostly uneventful innings. The exception came when Giants catcher Buster Posey reignited a dormant audience by tucking a 342-foot home run behind the left-field fence to start the bottom of the sixth. Posey sparked another burst of excitement with an eighth-inning single. Reds reliever Jonathan Broxton walked Brandon Belt with two outs to bring fans to their feet as they waved orange towels. But the light-hitting left fielder Gregor Blanco, who had two earlier hits, struck out watching a 3-2 pitch, extinguishing the threat. After San Francisco reliever Santiago Casilla gave up two more runs in the ninth, the second on a passed ball that followed a wild pitch, tension returned again in the bottom of the ninth. Reds closer Aroldis Chapman struggled to control his fastball. The Giants, with a single and two walks, loaded the bases with one out. Pablo Sandoval popped out. Posey, to chants of "M.V.P.," watched as Joaquin Arias scored on a wild pitch. Then he struck out swinging on a 100-miles-per-hour fastball from Chapman. It was Cincinnati's first playoff victory in 17 years, and provided a far more promising start than the last time the Reds reached the postseason. In 2010, the year the Giants surged to the World Series title, the Reds were dispatched in quick order by the Philadelphia Phillies in a division series. They lost Game 1 on Roy Halladay's no-hitter, melted down with four errors in Game 2, and were shut out at home in Game 3 by Cole Hamels. Cueto was the losing pitcher in the clinching game. His role may be no less important in this series, even if it lasts just eight pitches.