Twice in Cincinnati’s 2-1, 10-inning win over San Francisco Thursday, Reds pitchers pitched out of trouble with a runner on third base and less than two outs.

In the seventh, with the score tied at one, Giants rookie Eli Whiteside opened the inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice by starter Matt Cain. Reds starter Aaron Harang worked his way of the jam by inducing an infield fly from Eugenio Velez and retiring Juan Uribe on a liner to center fielder Aaron Rowand.

The following inning, with Arthur Rhodes on the mound for the Reds, Pablo Sandoval delivered a one-out double and moved up on Randy Winn’s infield single. Rhodes ended the threat by getting pinch-hitter Edgar Renteria to ground into an inning-ending double play.

After dodging bullets in those two innings, the Reds won the game in the 10th on Drew Stubbs’ leadoff homer off Giants reliever Bob Howry.

For no reason that can be easily explained, the Reds have been better than all big league clubs at stranding runners at third with less two outs. In fact, only the Reds pitching staff has kept the runner from coming home via an RBI less than 50 percent of the time.

Cincinnati pitchers have faced that scenario 239 times in 2009, and have kept the runner from coming home via an RBI on 128 occasions. Cincinnati’s opponents have driven the runner home in just 46.4 percent of those situations. The next-best strand percentages with a man on third and less than two outs belong to the Arizona Diamondbacks (51.8), the St. Louis Cardinals (52.5) and New York Mets (52.9).

Not all that much has gone well for the Reds in 2009. It’s conceivable, though, that the staff’s success at stranding runners at third with less than two outs may have contributed to winning a few extra games.