Cincinnati Reds smack 5 homers, take down Rockies 11-8

Coors Field was exactly what the Cincinnati Reds needed to get their offense rolling.

You can always expect to see a lot of offense in Denver, and that was the case on Memorial Day. The Reds won a high-scoring affair over the Colorado Rockies by an 11-8 score, picking up 17 hits along the way — including five home runs and three doubles.

Here are some observations from the contest:

Getting back on track

Everyone contributed to the win for the Reds and several players were able to break out of their slumps at the plate.

Zack Cozart led off the game with a home run on the first pitch he saw, breaking an 0-for-18 skid, and would later add two singles and a run batted in.

Another dubious streak came to an end when Eugenio Suarez singled in the fourth inning, his first hit in 28 plate appearances. He would add a solo home run to dead center field in the eighth inning to cap off a nice day.

Joey Votto has shown signs of breaking out of his season-long slump recently and that continued Monday. He had a huge game-tying, two-run double in the fourth inning and added a homer in the seventh, the 200th of his career.

Billy Hamilton — who had been 2-for-his-last-17 — continued to hit well in Denver, picking up a double, two singles and a stolen base.

Power surge continues

The month of May hasn’t been kinder to anyone than to Adam Duvall. The left fielder smacked two more home runs on Monday, giving him five in his last six games and bringing his total to 13 for the season. For the month, he has hit six doubles, 11 home runs and knocked in 24 runs. His hot hitting has put him in the team lead in a number of offensive categories (home runs, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging percentage, fWAR, wRC+) and has him currently sitting fourth in baseball in slugging percentage (.606).

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Pitching holds up

It wasn’t a great day for Reds pitching, but it was enough to get the job done.

Dan Straily had his first bad start of the year, allowing a leadoff home run to Charlie Blackmon in the first inning before giving up four runs in the third. He recovered afterward, however, keeping the Rockies off the board over his final three innings. In addition to five runs, the right-hander surrendered eight hits and three walks, while striking out four.

Even with a big lead, the bullpen was shaky at best. Ross Ohlendorf was the only reliever to throw a perfect frame, doing so in the eighth while striking out two.

Blake Wood loaded the bases on two walks and a double in the seventh, but escaped without allowing a run.

With an 11-5 lead, Tony Cingrani couldn’t finish the ninth. A leadoff walk and a home run by Carlos Gonzalez quickly made it an 11-7 game. The southpaw then walked another before retiring two straight hitters and was removed after allowing an RBI single to Daniel Descalso.

The final out was recorded by J.C. Ramirez, who came through to preserve the win and pick up his first career save.

Notes:

• Brandon Phillips left the game in the seventh inning. He crashed into a wall in Milwaukee on Sunday and injured his left leg, so it was likely related to that.
• Every hitter in the Reds lineup had at least one hit, minus Straily. The pitcher did get on base, though, drawing a walk in the fourth inning.
• After Cingrani’s poor showing, could Ohlendorf start seeing more opportunities in the ninth inning? The 33-year-old has allowed just two hits over his last five innings pitched.
• The win was just the Reds’ fifth away from Great American Ball Park this season, moving their road record to 5-19.