CINCINNATI -- Brandon Finnegan's success this season hinges on being more pitch-efficient and throwing first-pitch strikes allowing him to pitch deeper into games. After a 25-pitch first inning on Wednesday night, Finnegan rolled through the next six frames, had 13 first-pitch strikes and delivered one of the finest outings of his young career.

Joey Votto broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer in the seventh and Finnegan allowed one hit through seven frames, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at soggy Great American Ball Park.

Finnegan, 23, is among the centerpieces of a Reds' rebuild centered around its young pitching, and he was outstanding Wednesday, retiring the final 19 batters he faced and striking out nine.

"Very impressive," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "He was a little haphazard in the first, but after that he was extremely sharp. Had the full mix. A little extra on the fastball. There were some good sliders but he had better command of the changeup."

The game was scoreless when Votto launched a 1-0 pitch from Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff (0-1) into the right-center field seats leading off the bottom of the seventh to put Cincinnati ahead 1-0.

Eugenio Suarez followed with a double and Zack Cozart's RBI single put the Reds ahead 2-0, ending the evening for Eickhoff.

The Phillies had the tying run at the plate in the ninth but couldn't push across a run against Raisel Iglesias who earned the save.

"We create a whole different ballgame if we don't get that second run," Price said.

Both Votto's homer and Suarez's double came on curveballs, a pitch that had served Eickhoff well on Wednesday.

"The homer to Votto came on a curve," Eickhoff said. "One of those things where you tip your cap. I fooled him a little bit, but he kept his hands back. He's a strong guy and he was able to hit it out of the park."

Following a 50-minute rain delay at the start, the pitchers took over.

At his best, Finnegan is getting groundballs and strikeouts, but where he runs into trouble is when the pitch-count gets elevated early. That nearly happened Wednesday, when he labored through the first inning.

But, Finnegan (1-0) rebounded with an 11-pitch second and 12-pitch third then cruised from there.

"I got a little jittery (during the rain delay)," Finnegan said. "I was real anxious to get out there tonight. I handled it pretty well and was able to calm myself down later in the game. (Catcher) Tucker (Barnhart) and I were on the same wavelength. Had a good two-seam changeup. We were just grippin' and rippin'."

The Phillies hit .222 against Finnegan in his two starts against them last year, and there weren't many good swings against him on Wednesday, aside from Maikel Franco, who singled in the first and flew out to the warning track in the fourth

Eickhoff worked extensively on his off-speed pitches during spring training, most notably his changeup.

He showed the full arsenal while retiring the first seven batters he faced on Wednesday then pitched out of a second-and-third jam in the third.

Eickhoff induced a 3-6-1 double-play grounder to end the fifth after Cozart reached on an infield single.

"I played into their aggressiveness," Eickhoff said. "They were swinging early. I was able to pitch to the corners and get contact to my liking."

Finnegan allowed one hit and Eickhoff gave up just two through six innings. Only three runners reached second base.

Trailing 2-0 in the eighth, Philadelphia scratched out a couple of infield hits to begin the inning. But, Michael Lorenzen retired the next three batters.

Finnegan's outing set up the most desired bullpen scenario for Cincinnati which was able to go with Lorenzen and Iglesias to slam the door.

"He was able to shorten the game," said Price of Finnegan. "That's what you want to see. It was setting itself up to be a short start, but he was able to funnel it."

NOTES: Reds C Devin Mesoraco (hip surgery) plans to begin a rehab assignment for Double-A Pensacola on Thursday night. He plans to catch six innings. ... The Reds claimed OF Tyler Goeddel off waivers from the Phillies on Wednesday and transferred RHP Anthony DeSclafani to the 60-day disabled list. ... On Monday, LF Howie Kendrick became the first Phillies player to collect three hits on Opening Day in his Phillies debut since Jim Thome in 2003.