Cincinnati, OH (My Sportsbook) - Edinson Volquez was brilliant, pitching eight shutout innings, as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Houston Astros, 3-0, in the finale of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

Volquez (3-2) allowed one hit -- a double to Miguel Tejada in the first inning -- walked one and struck out six. Francisco Cordero earned his seventh save of the season with a perfect ninth inning, as Cincinnati snapped an 11-game home losing streak to Houston dating back to May 10, 2007.

Laynce Nix went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Adam Rosales knocked in a pair for the Reds, who had dropped the first two games in the series. The Reds claimed only their second win in the last six games overall.

"Pitching and defense is the key to championships," Rosales said. "You got to give Volquez a lot of credit. Volquez pitched his heart out tonight. It was great to see."

Jason Michaels walked and J.R. Towles was hit by a Volquez pitch, but they were the only other Houston baserunners aside from Tejada. The Astros had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Felipe Paulino (0-2) was the hard-luck loser. The young right-hander allowed two runs -- one earned -- over 5 2/3 innings, struck out three and walked a pair.

"I didn't think (Volquez) was all that sharp. I really didn't," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "I thought he had some life to his fastball. It looked like we had some pitches to hit, but we just didn't swing it very well. You have to give him some credit. I didn't think he was a one-hit kind of performance tonight, but I think he pitched pretty well."

With the game scoreless through 4 1/2 innings, the Reds broke through in the bottom of the fifth. Nix tripled down the right-field line and came in to score on Rosales' single up the middle. Alex Gonzalez followed with a base hit and both runners moved up after a Volquez sacrifice bunt. Willy Taveras bounced into a fielder's choice, then swiped second, but Jerry Hairston Jr. struck out looking to end the inning.

Cincinnati tacked on another in the sixth. Joey Votto reached on a two-base error by Astros center fielder Michael Bourn, then got to third with two down before scoring on Nix's infield single.

Volquez retired 17 batters in a row prior to issuing a two-out walk to Michaels in the eighth. However, he got pinch-hitter Lance Berkman to line out to get out of the inning.

The Reds went up 3-0 in the bottom of the eighth when Rosales lifted a sacrifice fly to left. Then in the top of the ninth, Cordero took over for Volquez and retired the side in order.

Game Notes

Volquez improved to 4-0 lifetime against the Astros...Houston continues its eight-game road trip at Atlanta on Friday, while Cincinnati begins a five-game road trip at Pittsburgh the same day...The Astros went 12-3 in the season series last year...The Reds finished 2-4 on their six-game homestand.