The Sports Xchange
May 21, 2017
CINCINNATI -- The Colorado Rockies homered four times, including one by starting pitcher Kyle Freeland, in a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of a three-game series Sunday afternoon at Great American Ball Park.
Carlos Gonzalez hit his 200th career home run in the fourth inning, Freeland added his first career homer in the fifth, and DJ LeMahieu and Pat Valaika also went deep off Reds starter Bronson Arroyo. LeMahieu went 4-for-5 with a double and homer.
After blowing a five-run lead in Saturday's loss to the Reds, the Rockies' bullpen came through Sunday. Closer Greg Holland improved to 19-for-19 on save opportunities to extend his Rockies franchise record for consecutive saves to begin a season.
Colorado (28-17) moved to 26-0 when leading after seven innings to take two of three in the weekend series.
Joey Votto and Scott Schebler homered for Cincinnati (20-23), which has lost seven of eight. Votto went 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
In the first inning, Billy Hamilton reached on an error when the ball took a high hop and struck Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado in the face. Arenado remained in the game after receiving treatment.
Hamilton stole second and third then scored on Votto's groundout to put Cincinnati in front 1-0.
Freeland (5-2) needed 28 pitches to get through the first inning. He issued a walk, hit a batter, but didn't allow a hit.
Freeland's double helped spark a two-run third inning for Colorado. A sacrifice fly by Charlie Blackmon and an RBI single by DJ LeMahieu put the Rockies ahead 2-1.
Gonzales launched an 0-1 pitch from Arroyo into the home bullpen in right field to make the score 3-1 in the fourth. It was his third homer this season.
It was Freeland's turn in the fifth when he deposited a 71-mile per hour slider from Arroyo in the Reds' bullpen.
Two batters later, LeMahieu crushed Arroyo's first pitch out to left field to make the score 5-1. Arroyo (3-4) allowed six earned runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Votto's two-run homer and a solo shot by Schebler who hit a three-run go-ahead homer in Saturday's epic comeback win, got the Reds within two, 6-4 in the sixth.
Freeland allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings and left the game with a 6-3 lead which the bullpen helped maintain.
NOTES: Rockies SS Trevor Story came through back-to-back minor league rehab appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque with no physical issues. He went 1-for-4 on Saturday for the Isotopes and could rejoin the team during this week's four-game series at Philadelphia. ... Reds SS Zack Cozart was out of the lineup Sunday due to right wrist soreness. ... LHP Kyle Freeland is the first Colorado-born player to homer for the Rockies. ... Reds 1B Joey Votto tied Jay Bruce for seventh on the club's all-time home run list with 233.