CINCINNATI -- In most instances, the decision for Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price would have been easy. With a four-run lead, a reliever warming and starter Scott Feldman having thrown 106 pitches over eight shutout innings on Sunday afternoon, Price was about to call the bullpen. But, 34-year-old veteran Scott Feldman pleaded his case to pitch the ninth.

"I just asked if it was negotiable or not," Feldman said. "A lot of times it's not, so you don't bother. I got a little bit of a second wind in the eighth. He showed some confidence in me, which is nice."

Feldman delivered with a 13-pitch, 1-2-3 inning to close out his third career shutout.

Scott Schebler and Zack Cozart homered, and Feldman tossed a four-hitter, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-0 victory and a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants at Great American Ball Park.

"He had earned it," Price said. "I had him coming out after eight innings. He said he felt great. I talked about it with (pitching coach) Mack Jenkins. His pitch-count was OK, we had (Raisel) Iglesias behind him."

Feldman (2-3) walked one with five strikeouts for his fifth career complete game. His last shutout came on Aug. 30, 2014, vs. the Texas Rangers while he was a member of the Houston Astros.

The Giants had 16 ground-ball outs on Sunday. Feldman is on schedule to face the Giants again next week at AT&T Park.

"I haven't had too many of them in my career," Feldman said of his complete-game effort. "It's a good feeling. I face them again next time, so I need to put together a good gameplan."

Cincinnati (17-14) has won five straight after outscoring the Giants 31-5 in the three games. The Reds scored in 16 of 24 innings in the series.

San Francisco (11-21) was shut out for the fourth time this season. It was the Reds' fourth shutout win.

"(Feldman) was good but ... it's hard to say how good because boy we've really struggled here with the bats," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy. "Scored five runs in a three-game series. I didn't see that coming. But, he threw a great game."

Giants starter Johnny Cueto, who spent eight seasons with Cincinnati, where he won 92 games, including a 20-win season in 2014, faced his former club for the second time in his career.

Cueto (4-2) has been dealing with a blister on his right middle finger but managed to pitch seven innings on Sunday allowing four runs, two earned, and six hits with 10 strikeouts. He walked one.

"Johnny was Johnny," said Bochy. "He battled, kept us in the game, gave us what we needed."

Cueto recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 14th time in his career and fourth time as a Giant. He has struck out at least 10 batters in eight starts at Great American Ball Park, the most by any pitcher there.

However, Reds batters weren't kind to their former teammate.

For the third consecutive game against the Giants, the Reds got on the board in the first inning. Billy Hamilton reached on an error and scored on Joey Votto's single.

Scooter Gennett then drove home Votto with a single to right.

"I kind of left a few pitches up," said Cueto, via a translator. "I felt good overall. They're a team that's hot right now. We're kind of flat, we're cold. Our bats are really cold."

Cincinnati outscored the Giants 7-0 in the first inning during the three-game series, with Hamilton scoring three times.

Cueto struck out three in the third, but Schebler hit his ninth home run with two outs to make the score 3-0.

The Reds tacked on another run when Cozart hit a towering home run to left field in the fifth inning. It was Cozart's second home run this season.

Feldman retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced. Only three Giants reached second base against him, and he threw 119 pitches.

The Reds are putting rebuilding aside, for the moment, and are playing as well as any team in baseball heading into Monday's opener of a two-game series against the New York Yankees.

"This year, there's an energy about us," Cozart said. "We show up and expect to win. Been a couple years since we've had that kind of energy."

NOTES: CF Billy Hamilton became the first Reds player to triple in three consecutive games since Deion Sanders in 1997. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford, on the 10-day disabled list with a right groin strain, will play six innings at Double-A Richmond on Monday. ... The Reds optioned LHP Amir Garrett to Triple-A Louisville in an effort to limit his innings. RHP Barrett Astin was recalled from Triple-A. ... The Reds will play the Cardinals in St. Louis on June 26 to make up an April 29 rainout.