In a game where Brandon Phillips was a homer shy of hitting for the cycle, they stole five bases in one inning and Robert Stephenson cruised in his second big league start, the Reds held on to a 4-3 victory from the Rockies on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.
All of the damage against Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa came during a four-run bottom of the second inning when the Reds sent nine men to the plate and collected five hits with five steals. Down by a run entering the frame, Phillips led off with a single and later scored from third base on Jay Bruce’s fielder’s choice. Billy Hamilton chopped a two-out, two-run double into short left field, and Zack Cozart added an RBI single.
De La Rosa was lifted after his first two batters reached in the third inning.
“My command wasn’t there,” De La Rosa said. “The first inning was a good inning, but after that I don’t know what happened. I lost my concentration and they hit the ball pretty good.”
Lefty reliever Chris Rusin kept the game in reach, allowing two hits over four scoreless innings. Stephenson, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville when Alfredo Simon was scratched with biceps tendinitis, became the first Reds starter to complete seven innings this season. Stephenson allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks and struck out three.
“I was definitely happy to be able to help the team as much as I could,” said Stephenson, the Reds’ No. 2 prospect. “The defense played awesome behind me. We had that big inning in the second inning to jump ahead and get that lead.”
Caleb Cotham followed Stephenson with a perfect eighth inning. Tony Cingrani opened the ninth by striking out the first batter before J.J. Hoover gave up an infield hit and Mark Reynolds’ two-out, two-run homer on a full count. Ben Paulsen drove Hoover’s final pitch deep, but not deep enough to tie the score.
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