Colorado Rockies second baseman Harold Castro tags out the Cincinnati Reds’ Jose Barrero as he tries to stretch a single into a double during Wednesday’s game in Denver. (AP photo)
DENVER — Elias Díaz drove in three runs and Kris Bryant, Jurickson Profar and Brenton Doyle each had two RBI in a two-inning, 11-run outburst that helped the Colorado Rockies erase a five-run deficit and beat the Cincinnati Reds 11-6 on Wednesday.
The Rockies sent 19 batters to the plate and recorded 10 hits while scoring five times in the fifth and six more times in the sixth. Doyle’s two-run triple put Colorado ahead to stay in its 11th win in 16 games.
“It’s nice to be part of wins like that,” Bryant said.
And it all happened without a home run, marking the first time since 2019 that the Rockies have scored 10 or more runs without going deep.
“Hitting home runs is fun and everything, but if you can have a good enough offense where you hit line drives up the middle when there’s runners in scoring position,” said Bryant, who is hitting .297 with five homers.
Colorado did most of the damage off Reds starter Graham Ashcraft (2-2), who was charged with seven runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings.
Backup catcher Luke Maile homered and drove in two runs as the Reds built an early lead before collapsing as they finished a 2-4 trip.
A 32-year-old backup with his fifth team in eight seasons, Maile delivered an RBI single in Cincinnati’s two-run second. He then led off the fifth by pulling 1-0 fastball 424 feet for his second homer and 15th of his career.
Two more hits in the inning chased starter Austin Gomber. Fernando Abad relieved and immediately gave up a two-run double to Stuart Fairchild that made it 5-0.
But the Rockies batted around in the bottom of the inning. Profar, who extended his on-base streak to 27 games, had a two-run double, and Díaz added a two-run bloop single.
Manager David Bell let Ashcraft start the sixth and he couldn’t record an out. Harold Castro doubled and Michael Toglia singled before Bell took him out. Doyle then drilled Lucas Sims’ first pitch for a two-run triple.
Four batters later, Bryant’s liner made it 9-5 and ended Sims’ day. Díaz kept it going with an RBI single off Silvino Bracho.
Pirates 8, Tigers 0
DETROIT — Rich Hill gave up one hit in six innings, Austin Hedges drove in three runs and the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled to an 8-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.
The 43-year-old Hill (4-3), the oldest active player in the majors, gave up an infield single to Matt Vierling and two walks while striking out seven. A trio of relievers completed the shutout as Pittsburgh won for just the third time in 15 games.
“All the credit goes to (catcher Hedges) and the game he called,” Hill said. “I just followed his lead and executed pitches. That was it. I always talk about how the ball comes out of my hand. Today certainly was a day that it came out the way I wanted it to.”
Hill recorded 56 strikes on 84 pitches.
“It was a start we needed against an all right-handed lineup with some good hitters,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I thought it was his best curveball he’s had all year. It kept them off-balance and he did a good job executing his fastball to both sides. He got some funky swings today.”
Vierling’s hit proved to be all the Tigers could muster as their batters struck out 14 times.
In contrast, the Pirates had their highest scoring output since piling up 16 runs against Washington on April 29. They scored only 22 runs in their previous 14 games.
“That was a game we needed offensively,” Shelton said.
Rodolfo Castro homered and knocked in two runs, while Bryan Reynolds contributed three hits and scored two runs.
Tigers starter Eduardo Rodríguez, who had allowed just two runs in his previous six starts, gave up four runs and six hits in five innings.
“He just wasn’t sharp,” Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. “He didn’t really locate his fastball. They came out and ambushed him pretty well and won some at-bats.”
Hinch was ejected for the first time this season during the fourth inning. He was tossed by home plate umpire Nic Lentz for arguing balls and strikes.
Hedges ended Rodríguez’s streak of 21 scoreless innings with a two-run double in the second, which glanced off the glove of the center fielder Vierling.
Castro gave Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead in the fourth with his fifth homer. The Pirates extended their lead on Andrew McCutchen’s RBI single in the fifth.
Pittsburgh tacked on four more runs in the seventh.
