The Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds went in opposition to Monday's game and saw strong pitching performances by each team's starter. However, the Rockies came out on top, 3-2, on Tuesday night.
Dontrelle Willis (0-2, 3.41 ERA) had his best start in at least four years. He allowed three runs in eight innings and struck out 10. In the second inning, Willis tripled in Ramon Hernandez for the temporary Cincinnati 1-0 lead. He attempted to score on a fielder's choice hit into Dave Sappelt but he was thrown out at home.
But come the fourth inning, Willis allowed a crack in his armor. Carlos Gonzalez was on first base after he hit into a fielder's choice that had Dexter Fowler out at second base. Troy Tulowitzki followed by depositing a ball into the left field stands for his 22nd home run of the season and a 2-1 Rockies lead.
Esmil Rogers (6-1, 5.85 ERA) did labor at several points in his outing, but he wound up allowing just one additional run after the Willis triple. In the fourth inning, Todd Frazier reached first base on a strikeout because the ball wound up as a wild pitch. Sappelt singled to put two men on base, which was followed by a fielder's choice to the pitcher by Edgar Renteria. That allowed Frazier to score.
In the fifth inning, Dexter Fowler hit an RBI single to break the 2-2 tie. Matt Reynolds, Josh Roenicke, Rex Brothers and Rafael Betancourt (SV 1) kept Cincinnati quiet for the final three innings of the game.
The Rockies (55-62, 27-31 away) play the Reds on Wednesday at 5:10 p.m. MT. Kevin Millwood is likely to make his Rockies debut as the starter while Mike Leake is scheduled for the Reds.
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