CINCINNATI (Interstat) — Andrew Abbott allowed three hits in six scoreless innings and Spencer Steer homered to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.

Abbott struck out five and walked one, lowering his earned run average to 2.84 over his past three starts. He retired the side in order in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings, allowing only a single to Isaac Paredes in the first, a single to César Salazar in the third and a single to Jose Altuve in the sixth. The left-hander, who improved to 2-2 on the season, threw 66 of 96 pitches for strikes.

The Reds broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on three hits and taking advantage of two walks. Elly De La Cruz singled on a sharp line drive to center field, then Sal Stewart doubled off the right-field wall, putting runners at second and third. JJ Bleday followed with a ground-rule triple down the right-field line, scoring De La Cruz and Stewart to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. Tyler Stephenson then singled to right field, scoring Bleday to make it 3-0.

Cincinnati added a run in the fifth. De La Cruz led off with a single, advanced to second on a walk to Bleday, moved to third on a walk to Blake Dunn and scored on a walk to Matt McLain, stretching the lead to 4-0.

Steer provided the final margin in the sixth, launching a solo home run to left field, his seventh of the season. Houston starter Kai-Wei Teng was charged with four runs on six hits over 4⅓ innings. He struck out four and walked five, falling to 1-3.

The Astros managed only three hits all afternoon — a single by Paredes in the first, a single by Salazar in the third and a single by Altuve in the sixth. Houston never advanced a runner past first base. Altuve was the only Astro to reach scoring position, and he was left stranded.

Cincinnati’s bullpen closed out the shutout with three perfect innings. Tejay Antone struck out two in the seventh, Graham Ashcraft struck out two in the ninth and Sam Moll struck out one in the eighth. The three relievers combined to retire all nine batters they faced.

De La Cruz finished with three hits and scored twice. Bleday drove in two runs with his triple and also walked twice. Steer went 1-for-5 with the home run and an RBI. Stewart doubled and scored.

The victory gave the Reds a series win, two games to one, after they lost the opener Friday 10-0. Cincinnati rebounded by allowing only one run over the final two games of the series. The Reds improved to 22-19, while the Astros fell to 16-25.

Houston’s offense continued to struggle, having scored two runs or fewer in five of its last eight games. The Astros were shut out for the first time since April 7 at Colorado.

Attendance was 23,980, and the game was completed in 2 hours, 27 minutes.

The most important sequence occurred in the fourth inning, when the Reds strung together three consecutive hits — De La Cruz’s single, Stewart’s double and Bleday’s triple — to plate two runs and seize control. Abbott worked out of a minor jam in the second inning, when a walk and a ground-ball double play erased a baserunner, and the Astros never threatened again.

Cincinnati’s defense also contributed, with shortstop Elly De La Cruz making a running catch in shallow left field in the first inning and second baseman Matt McLain turning a double play in the second.

Houston starter Kai-Wei Teng struggled with command early, walking two batters in the second inning before the double play. He issued a walk to McLain in the fourth and then two more walks in the fifth, leading to his departure after 4⅓ innings.

Cody Bolton relieved Teng and allowed two earned runs on two hits over two innings, striking out four. Logan VanWey tossed a scoreless seventh, AJ Blubaugh a scoreless eighth and Jayden Murray a scoreless ninth.

For the Astros, Yordan Alvarez struck out four times. Christian Walker, Cam Smith, Brice Matthews, Nick Allen and Zach Cole combined to go 0-for-17 with seven strikeouts.

The Reds, who had lost eight straight games before Saturday, have now won two in a row. Their next series begins Tuesday against the Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park. Houston returns home to face the Seattle Mariners on Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Houston 5, Cincinnati 3, and the ELO system gave Cincinnati a 52.70 percent probability to win. The Reds had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over-under line of 9.