Colorado 6, Cincinnati 4
When: 12:35 PM ET, Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
Temperature:
78°
Umpires:
Home -
Tim Welke, 1B -
Mike Everitt, 2B -
Tim Timmons, 3B -
Todd Tichenor
Attendance:
23917
By The Sports Xchange
CINCINNATI -- Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado was fifth in fan voting for the National League All-Star team when the initial totals were announced Wednesday afternoon. But, Rockies manager Walt Weiss was unconcerned.
"He'll be in the All-Star Game, one way or another," Weiss said. "That's my campaign speech."
Arenado made his case for election on Wednesday by going 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, and right-hander Kyle Kendrick pitched seven strong innings, lifting Colorado to a 6-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the finale of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.
Center fielder Charlie Blackmon hit his seventh homer for Rockies. Second baseman D.J. LeMahieu extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the second inning.
Kendrick (2-6) allowed one run through seven innings before giving up three in the eighth as Colorado (19-26) took the series. He walked one and struck out one over just 75 pitches.
"He was locked in," Weiss said. "That's as good as he's been this season. We saw him being more aggressive. Early in the season we saw some pitches getting elevated. He's in the bottom of the zone."
Third baseman Todd Frazier and catcher Tucker Barnhart homered for Cincinnati (19-27), which has lost 10 of 11.
Reds manager Bryan Price called a closed-door meeting with players after the game.
"Nobody likes talking about the last 11 games," Price said. "Nobody in there is bringing in any dancing girls."
The Reds halted a nine-game losing streak on Tuesday, their longest since 1998, but couldn't extend the momentum to Wednesday.
"Right now, things aren't going our way. It's no secret," catcher Brayan Pena said. "(The meeting) was something that we needed to hear."
Reds starter Mike Leake (2-4) labored through a 29-pitch first inning on Wednesday, allowing three runs on two hits and a pair of walks.
The big blow for Colorado in the first was Arenado's 419-foot, three-run blast to left, making the score 3-0.
"It was a fastball, sinker that came right back over the plate," Arenado said. "I put a good swing on it. It's always nice to win a series. It's a good feeling."
Arenado has nine hits in his last 16 at-bats, with three home runs and 10 RBIs in four games.
Frazier hit his 14th home run of the season on a 2-2 pitch from Kendrick in the bottom of the first. He went 2-for-3 with a homer, double and three RBIs.
Leake was one strike away from getting through the second unscathed, but Blackmon connected on an 0-2 pitch for a two-run homer, making the score 5-1.
The Rockies increased their lead to 6-1 on first baseman Ben Paulsen's RBI single in the fifth.
Leake allowed six runs in five innings. In his past three starts, Leake has given up 20 earned runs, with six homers and eight walks.
"He's off the edges of the plate, so he throws more pitches and more balls are hit in the air," Price said. "He'll get back to where he was."
Kendrick cruised through seven innings on just 61 pitches, needing fewer than 10 pitches in six of his first seven frames.
"The sinker was good. I got some early contact and quick outs," Kendrick said. "I got some one-pitch, two-pitch outs in the middle innings. I was just trying to be aggressive in the zone."
Kendrick retired 12 straight before giving up Barnhart's solo homer leading off the eighth. It was Barnhart's third homer this season.
Things got dicey for Colorado in the eighth.
After just 75 pitches and runners on first and second, Kendrick was replaced by left-hander Boone Logan, who walked Frazier with the bases loaded, making the score 6-3.
Right fielder Jay Bruce's bloop hit drove in Cincinnati's fourth run.
Rafael Betancourt then retired the next two batters, leaving the bases loaded.
Joh
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Colorado
|
10 |
2 |
17 |
.278 |
11 |
7 |
6 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Cincinnati
|
6 |
2 |
13 |
.182 |
11 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
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