Astros WIN WIN WIN against Reds

ASTROS 4, REDS 2
at Kissimmee, Fla.
Friday, March 21

Reds at the plate: Laynce Nix logged two of the Reds' hits, singling in the fourth and again in the seventh. Wilkin Castillo doubled in the eighth, and Darnell McDonald doubled to lead off the ninth, when Jonny Gomes drove in two with a double off Bud Norris.

Astros at the plate: Humberto Quintero drove in the first run with a two-out base hit in the second, driving in Geoff Blum. Russ Ortiz followed with an RBI single, scoring Reggie Abercrombie. Darin Erstad led off the sixth with a double and scored on Lance Berkman's first homer this spring.

Reds on the mound: Johnny Cueto allowed two runs on six hits over five innings. Nick Masset threw three innings, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and one strikeout.

Astros on the mound: Ortiz, the leading candidate to win one of the final spots in the rotation, turned in his strongest outing of the spring, allowing one hit over six innings with two strikeouts. Chris Sampson followed with two scoreless innings.

Grapefruit League records: Astros 2-16-3; Reds 9-12

Up next: The Astros head back out on the road Saturday to play the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla., at 1:05 p.m. ET. Jose Capellan, who is currently competing with Ortiz for the final spot in the rotation, will take the hill for Houston. Capellan threw five shutout innings in his last outing and has not yielded a run all spring.

Alyson Footer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.