Rockies 5, Reds 4
CINCINNATI -- Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-out, two-run home run in the eighth inning to lift the Colorado Rockies to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.
Second baseman Jonathan Herrera went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI for the Rockies.
Rex Brothers pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save. Josh Outman (2-0) earned the victory.
Reds starter Homer Bailey allowed three runs on four hits in the second inning, but he gave up just two hits and had six strikeouts in his six other innings. He retired 13 straight before Todd Helton's leadoff single in the seventh.
Rockies starter Juan Nicasio allowed three runs on five hits, walked two and struck out three in six innings.
Colorado had runners on first and third in the seventh with the score tied 3-3, but pinch-hitter Jonathan Pacheco grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Cincinnati scored the go-ahead run on a balk by Edgmer Escalona in the bottom half.
Xavier Paul, pinch-hitting for Bailey, doubled with one out and reached third when Shin-Soo Choo singled. Escalona faked a throw to third then to first, a move that is banned under a rule instituted this season. A balk was called, and Paul jogged home to put the Reds ahead 4-3.
But, Tulowitzki answered with two outs in the eighth.
With Carlos Gonzalez on first, Tulowitzki hit a line-drive homer on a 3-2 pitch from Sam LeCure (1-1) to put Colorado ahead 5-4. The umpires reviewed the play and determined the ball just cleared the wall.
A day after being shut out for the fourth time this season, the Rockies came out swinging.
Herrera's two-run double in the second put the Rockies ahead 2-0. Dexter Fowler made it 3-0 with an RBI single off Bailey, who was 1-4 with a 5.47 ERA in five starts against Colorado.
Cincinnati hit Nicasio hard in the fourth. RBI doubles by Todd Frazier and Ryan Hanigan tied the score 3-3.
NOTES: Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood returned to Denver on Tuesday to undergo an MRI on his right arm. He left Monday's game after just 64 pitches with right triceps soreness. An initial examination by head trainer Keith Dugger indicated a hyperextension. Chatwood will skip Wednesday's bullpen session. "Probably will be tough for him to make his next start if he misses his bullpens," manager Walt Weiss said. "The initial report sounds good. We want to make sure the next time he runs out there, he's right." ... Reds 2B Brandon Phillips, who has missed three games with a bruised left forearm after being hit by a pitch on Saturday, took batting practice and ground balls on Tuesday. Phillips is not expected to return to the starting lineup until Friday when the Reds begin a three-game series at home against the National League Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals. ... Rockies 2B Nolan Arenado was given a day off after going 3-for-28 in his past six games.
