Rockies Shut Down Reds 6-3

Rockies Shut Down Reds 6-3

The Colorado Rockies (17-27) shut down one of the hottest teams in baseball last night, beating the Cincinnati Reds (25-20) 6-3 in Cincinnati. Rockies starter Christian Friedrich gave up three runs in five innings, and struck out six. Todd Helton drove in thee runs. The second game of the series is tonight at Great American Park at 5:15 MT (TV: none).

Friedrich was on cruise control through three innings — no runs, two hits, three strikeouts — but he ran into trouble in the fourth. Back-to-back doubles by Ryan Ludwick and Todd Frazier plated three Reds runs and tied the game at 3.

“There are a lot of things I need to improve on, and one of them is fastball command,” Friedrich said. “I can’t change my mechanics. I got too aggressive and left pitches up. So next time I need to try and stay within myself.”

Friedrich allowed Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips to reach base in the fifth but got out of the inning unscathed.

The Rockies entered the night having lost six of seven, while the Reds had won six straight and had their ace, Johnny Cueto, on the mound. Cueto, however, labored through 4 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on 11 hits. He entered the night 5-1 with a 1.97 ERA but allowed 13 baserunners and saw his ERA climb to 2.53.

Todd Helton, who homered and drove in three runs, led the Colorado attack. His second-inning, two-run homer to right was his fifth of the season and the 352nd of his career.

Tickets are available for the Rockies’ next home game at Coors Field vs. the Houston Astros on Monday, May 28th, and can be purchased by calling (800) 388-ROCK, or click here.

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