Cincinnati @ Colorado preview

Last Meeting ( May 31, 2016 ) Cincinnati 4, Colorado 17

The Colorado Rockies need to start winning at home if they are to entertain thoughts of remaining in shouting distance in the National League West race, and Carlos Gonzalez appears to be aware of the situation. Gonzalez tries to continue tormenting Cincinnati while looking to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and homer in a career-high fifth straight contest when the Rockies host the Reds on Wednesday in the third contest of their four-game series.

Colorado tied a club record with seven home runs - the first time it hit that many at Coors Field - to snap a three-game losing streak both overall and against Cincinnati with a 17-4 victory Tuesday that improved the Rockies to 10-13 in Denver. Gonzalez, who is 19-for-37 with five home runs and nine RBIs during his hitting streak, is batting .325 with 14 blasts and 35 RBIs against the Reds - .388 with seven homers, 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 67 at-bats at home. Cincinnati has lost 18 of its last 22 contests and owns the worst ERA in baseball at 5.82 while allowing 13 or more runs five times this season. Colorado's Tyler Chatwood is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last three starts and opposes John Lamb, who has lost three consecutive turns.

TV: 8:40 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati), ROOT (Colorado)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Reds LH John Lamb (0-3, 6.85 ERA) vs. Rockies RH Tyler Chatwood (6-3, 2.69)

Lamb allowed six runs, seven hits and three walks in a 9-5 loss in Milwaukee on Friday and is 0-2 with a 15.26 ERA in two road starts this season. The 25-year-old Californian recorded a pair of no-decisions while posting a 1.80 ERA in his first two starts of 2016 but yielded 17 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings over his last three outings. Lamb, who never has faced Colorado, was 1-5 with a 5.80 ERA over 10 starts in his rookie season of 2015.

Chatwood permitted an unearned run and four hits in seven innings of a 5-2 victory over San Francisco on Friday, improving to 2-3 with a 5.10 ERA at Coors Field this season. “I feel like I’ve been throwing the ball well all year,” the 26-year-old Californian told reporters. “And right now, the results are there.” Chatwood, who has pitched at least six innings in six straight starts and in eight of nine turns this season, is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts versus Cincinnati.

WALK-OFFS

1. Gonzalez has hit home runs in four consecutive games three times in his career.

2. Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado, who was given Monday off after playing every game this season, has 16 home runs after belting a pair Tuesday and is tied for the major-league lead with the Chicago White Sox's Todd Frazier.

3. Colorado CF Charlie Blackmon (.301), who is the first player in franchise history to hit a leadoff homer in two straight contests, extended his career-high on-base streak to 26 games with a pair of home runs while matching a personal best with five RBIs on Tuesday in his 500th career game and has hit safely in nine straight.

Blackmon has lead-off homers in two straight games to become the first Rockies' player to do so.

PREDICTION: Rockies 9, Reds 8