On a night when Jon Gray hit a two-run home run and left the game in the position to pick up his second win of the season, the Colorado Rockies bullpen was the story. Gray’s 467-foot home run was the longest of the season by any Rockies player, but it was the bullpen that came up biggest, overcoming a costly Rockies error and being outhit 11 to 6 to earn a 5-3 victory at Coors Field on Wednesday.
Gray’s home run in the second inning spotted him an early lead against Reds starter Scott Feldman (7-7, 3.94 ERA). Cincinnati pecked away with a run in the fourth, which Pat Valakia answered with a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. Valaika would deliver a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning to give closer Greg Holland some breathing room. It was the first hit the Rockies had mustered since Valaika’s home run in the fourth.
Gray (2-0, 3.75) gave the bullpen just about the slimmest lead he could – up two runs with the bases full of Reds and two out in the sixth inning. Scott Oberg coaxed the pinch-hitting Adam Duvall to hit a chopper to four-time Gold Glove third baseman, Nolan Arenado who bobbled the ball and could not get an out. A Billy Hamilton groundout closed the book on Gray for the night, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk. Gray struck out five.
Chris Rusin worked out of a big jam in the seventh, stranding Zack Cozart and Joey Votto, who reached via a leadoff double followed by a walk. After Rusin struck out Scooter Gennett, Arenado made up for his gaffe in the sixth by turning a difficult 5-3 double play to end the inning. Jake McGee got a pair of strikeouts and picked off Jose Peraza, after allowing him a single, to get through the eighth inning unscathed.
Greg Holland got a strikeout of Arismendy Alcantara to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but Ryan Hanigan could not contain the pitch off the plate and Alcantara reached on a dropped third strike. Trevor Story pulled a rabbit out of his hat to double up the speedy Billy Hamilton on a 6-3 double play. It was only the fourth time this season Hamilton had grounded into a double-play.
Holland wouldn’t make it easy on himself, though. All-Star shortstop Zack Cozart singled to extend the ninth and bring the Joey Votto walked to put the tying run on. Gennett, who was 6-for-9 in the series coming into the at-bat, battled but ultimately grounded out to Holland to end it. The save was Holland’s 28th of the year, which leads baseball.
After defeating the Reds on Monday and falling on Tuesday, Colorado enters the four-game series finale with a chance to pick up their first series win since June 18. Sal Romano (0-1, 6.00) will pitch for Cincinnati trying to square the series. Tyler Chatwood (6-9, 4.41), who started the June 18 win, will go for Colorado.
