Cincinatti — Randy Winn needed 13 games to accomplish something no Giants player had done in more than six years.
The switch-hitting center fielder hit for the cycle in his first four at-bats, sending San Francisco to a 7-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night.
"It hasn't sunk in yet," Winn said.
Todd Linden also homered and drove in two runs for the Giants, who overcame solo shots by Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns.
Winn, who scored twice, led off the first inning against Aaron Harang with a single and the third with his ninth homer this season - his third in 13 games since being acquired from Seattle on July 30.
"I don't hit a lot of home runs," Winn said. "That's not my game, but I'll take them when they come. My job is to get on base."
The speedy Winn doubled with one out in the fourth and opened the sixth with a triple to right-center, making him the 21st player in Giants history to hit for the cycle and the first since Jeff Kent in a 9-8 loss at Pittsburgh on May 3, 1999.
"I knew I needed a triple, but they're so hard to hit that to hit one when you need one for the cycle is almost impossible," Winn said.
San Francisco Giants' Randy Winn reaches third base on a triple as Cincinnati Reds' Edwin Encarnacion takes the late throw in the fifth inning. Winn hit for the cycle in a 7-3 Giants victory Monday in Cincinnati.
It was the first time Winn hit for the cycle in his eight-year major league career. He is the third player to accomplish the feat this season, joining St. Louis' Mark Grudzielanek on April 27 against Milwaukee, and Washington's Brad Wilkerson on April 6 in Philadelphia.
"I gave him the day off (Sunday) because he'd played every day since we got him," Giants manager Felipe Alou said, adding a smile. "He seems to respond to days off. Maybe I'll give him one tomorrow."
Kevin Correia (2-3) went five innings to beat the Reds for the second time this season. He gave up six hits and four walks with five strikeouts.
Jeff Fassero, Scott Eyre, LaTroy Hawkins and Tyler Walker combined for four innings of scoreless relief to finish it.
"We had some chances, and we had some pretty good at-bats, but we had nothing to show for it," interim manager Jerry Narron said. "We just didn't get a big hit when we needed it."
Griffey hit a 1-0 pitch 389 feet to the opposite field in left with two outs in the first inning for his 27th homer. Dunn followed with his 34th, a 429-foot drive halfway up the bleachers in right-center on a 2-2 pitch to give Cincinnati eight sets of back-to-back homers this season.
After Winn's homer in the third, Linden tied the score by leading off the fourth with his third homer on the first pitch.
Kearns hit the first pitch of the fourth inning 418 feet off the facade of the second deck in left to give the Reds a 3-2 lead.
San Francisco took the lead with two unearned runs in the fifth against Harang (8-11). Pedro Feliz reached on rookie third baseman Edwin Encarnacion's throwing error. Feliz moved to second on a groundout and scored the tying run on Linden's single. Mike Matheny gave the Giants a 4-3 lead with an RBI double.
Omar Vizquel followed Winn's sixth-inning triple off left-hander Randy Keisler with an RBI double. Michael Tucker and Ray Durham each added a sacrifice fly.
Harang allowed nine hits and four runs in five innings, striking out seven. He knew it was Winn who did him in.
"The second at-bat, on the home run, I was trying to go in, and the ball ran out over the inner half of the plate," Harang said. "That's his power zone. Give him credit. He's fast, and he's out there trying to get on base, but he can hit for power."
Nationals 6, Phillies 3
Philadelphia - Preston Wilson homered twice, Livan Hernandez pitched eight strong innings and Washington won again on the road, beating Philadelphia.
The Nationals, knocked out of first place during a second-half slump, have turned things around away from home and put themselves in contention for the NL wild card. Coming off a three-game sweep in Colorado, Washington won its fourth in a row overall.
Hernandez (14-5) stifled the surging Phillies and showed no effects of the balky right knee that's bothered him this season. Nick Johnson and Brian Schneider also homered for the Nationals.
Astros 12, Cubs 4
Houston - Morgan Ensberg hit a long home run and finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs, and Chris Burke, Adam Everett and Humberto Quintero also homered to help Houston follow consecutive shutouts with its second-highest scoring game of the season.
Ensberg homered in the seventh, a solo shot that landed on the train track well above the left-field stands. Burke hit a three-run homer in the third, and Everett had a solo homer and Quintero a two-run shot in a six-run fifth. Astros rookie Willy Taveras had his fourth four-hit game, finishing 4-for-6.
Rockies 11, Brewers 2
Denver - Aaron Cook pitched six solid innings for his first win in more than a year, Garrett Atkins homered and drove in four runs, and Colorado ended a four-game losing streak a victory over slumping Milwaukee.
Cook (1-1) returned to Colorado's rotation on July 30 after missing nearly a year with blood clots in his lungs that nearly killed him. After being tagged for seven runs in 41â3 innings his first start back, he pitched well enough to win his next two outings, only to walk away with no-decisions in both games.
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