Rockies at Reds
The Colorado Rockies rode Carlos Gonzalez's hot bat to a slump-busting win and look to make it two in a row when they continue a three-game series at the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday. The Rockies had lost a season-high four straight before toppling the Reds 9-6 in the series opener Tuesday, as Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs.
The veteran outfielder is 14-for-32 with two homers and nine RBIs over an eight-game stretch to raise his average from .214 to .264. Colorado improved to 20-13 on the road with the victory while dropping the Reds to 9-20 at home. Cincinnati rallied from a 9-1 deficit to make it interesting and it finished with 17 hits, but 10 men were left on base - including two to end the contest. The hosts will try to bounce back behind Sal Romano, who opposes Jon Gray for the Rockies in a matchup of struggling right-handers.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado), FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rockies RH Jon Gray (5-6, 5.68 ERA) vs. Reds RH Sal Romano (3-6, 6.00)
Gray's issues continued last Wednesday against San Francisco at home, as he gave up four runs in a season-low 3 1/3 innings. It was his fourth straight non-quality start, during which the Oklahoma native has an ERA of 9.33. The best outing of that stretch was a win over the Reds in which Gray gave up four runs over six innings while improving to 3-0 lifetime versus Cincinnati.
Romano is also suffering through a difficult four-start swoon in which he's given up 22 runs in 17 2/3 innings. The 24-year-old served up four home runs over the last three outings, although he did manage to pick up a win at Arizona last Wednesday despite serving up two homers in five innings of four-run ball. Charlie Blackmon is 3-for-5 with a double against Romano, who lost opposite Gray at Coors Field last month.
WALK-OFFS
1. Blackmon was 3-for-5 on Tuesday and is batting .396 during a 12-game hitting streak.
2. Colorado recalled OF Mike Tauchman from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioned INF Daniel Castro.
3. Reds OF Scott Schebler has three home runs during his five-game hitting streak.