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Rockies roll over Reds with 20-hit barrage

Jun 6, 2013 - 6:01 AM Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Carlos Gonzalez belted three home runs and racked up six RBI, while Troy Tulowitzki homered twice as part of a 5-for-5 night as the Colorado Rockies bombarded the Cincinnati Reds, 12-4, in the rubber match of a three-game series from Great American Ball Park.

Tulowitzki, who delivered a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 5-4 victory, finished with three RBI to help pace a 20-hit outburst that enabled the Rockies to win back-to-back road games for the first time since a three-game sweep in San Diego from April 12-14.

Nolan Arenado added four hits and scored three times, Todd Helton went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and even starting pitcher Jon Garland chipped in a pair of hits in the rout.

Garland (4-6) overcame a rough first inning to go six strong on the mound, allowing four runs on four hits to notch his first win since May 4. The veteran righty had been 0-4 over his last five starts.

Pedro Villarreal (0-1), making an emergency start in place of an injured Johnny Cueto, was tagged for three of Colorado's six homers and permitted six runs on 10 hits before being lifted after 3 2/3 innings in his major league starting debut.

Cueto was forced to the disabled list shortly before game time due to a recurring right oblique strain.

Xavier Paul had a three-run homer for the Reds, who scored all of their runs in the first inning and dropped consecutive home games for the first time this season.

"That was a real whopping," Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Paul's homer had staked the Reds to an early 4-1 lead after one inning of play, but Garland settled down afterward and Tulowitzki's towering blast with Arenado aboard in the third began Colorado's comeback.

The Rockies went ahead for good an inning later, courtesy of Gonzalez.

Villarreal issued a costly two-out walk to Eric Young that extended the top of the fourth for Arenado, who reached on a single before Gonzalez clobbered an 0-1 pitch an estimated 458 feet well back into the seats in right center for a 6-4 advantage.

Tulowitzki collected his fourth hit of the night with a single against Alfredo Simon in the seventh. Two batters later, Helton socked his third homer in six games to give Colorado a comfortable four-run cushion. Jonathan Herrera singled later on and raced home on Jordan Pacheco's pinch-hit double to make it a 9-4 game.

Gonzalez achieved his second career three-homer game with a two-run drive off Manny Parra in the eighth, with Tulowitzki connecting on the very next pitch to cap the rout.

"I felt good at the plate," Gonzalez said. "I was glad to find my swing."

Villarreal retired the initial two batters in his first big league start before serving up Gonzalez's first homer of the contest, but Cincinnati answered with four runs -- all coming with two outs -- during its half of the opening inning.

Zack Cozart began the surge with a one-out double and later came around on Todd Frazier's single to center, which followed a walk to Jay Bruce. Paul then ended a seven-pitch at-bat by taking a hanging curve from Garland over the wall in right to send the Reds ahead by a 4-1 count.

Garland was outstanding from that point on, setting down 16 of the final 17 hitters he faced prior to giving way to Wilton Lopez to start the bottom of the seventh.

Game Notes

Colorado's six home runs tied the most by an opponent at Great American Ball Park, with Milwaukee accomplishing the feat on Sept. 9, 2007 ... Gonzalez's other three-homer effort came against Houston on May 30, 2012, and he knocked in a personal-best six runs for the fourth time in his career ... Tulowitzki had five hits in a game twice previously, the last coming in 2009 ... Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler sat out the game with a case of the flu ... Colorado's Michael Cuddyer went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to nine games ... With Brandon Phillips (forearm) missing a fourth straight game, Jack Hannahan made his first career start at second base for the Reds ... Villarreal threw one scoreless inning of relief for Cincinnati against Philadelphia last September.