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Reds, Rockies begin set in Cincinnati

Jun 3, 2013 - 2:58 PM (Sports Network) - Two teams sharing second-place standings in National League division races get together on Monday night when the Cincinnati Reds host the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game series at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds, who dropped a 5-4 verdict at home to Pittsburgh on Sunday, are tied with the Pirates in the NL Central, where they trail the first-place St. Louis Cardinals by 2 1/2 games.

The Cardinals, Reds and Pirates have the three best records in the NL.

Meanwhile, Colorado was a 7-2 winner over Los Angeles on Sunday and kept pace with front-running Arizona in the NL West.

The Rockies are tied with defending world champion San Francisco, also 2 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks.

Cincinnati sends veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo to the mound with a chance to restart a win streak that ended in his last start.

Arroyo won three straight outings between May 12-24 while allowing 16 hits and three runs over 20 1/3 innings.

The run ended on May 29 at Cleveland, where Arroyo was nicked for five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-2 loss to the Indians in an interleague matchup.

Arroyo is 3-3 in 12 lifetime meeting with the Rockies - including 10 starts - while allowing 33 earned runs in 59 2/3 innings.

He's 4-1 in six home starts this season.

He's opposed by Colorado righty Tyler Chatwood, who was five years old when Arroyo was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1995.

Chatwood was 5-6 in 19 appearances for the Rockies last season and debuted for them this season on April 24 with a no-decision against Atlanta.

He won three straight starts after that outing while allowing a single run on 16 hits over 17 2/3 innings, but the streak ended with a no-decision in a 6-3 Colorado loss to Houston on May 29.

In 29 2/3 overall innings, Chatwood has given up 29 hits and seven earned runs and a .266 opposition batting average.

He has never faced the Reds.

On Sunday in Colorado, Dexter Fowler had three RBI and accounted for two of four Colorado homers as the Rockies rolled to a victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field.

Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton added solo shots to back seven solid innings from Jorge De La Rosa and help the Rockies claim the rubber match of the three-game series. Cuddyer finished with two RBI in the triumph.

De La Rosa (7-3) held the Dodgers to two runs on six hits while striking out five to move to 5-0 in his five Coors Field starts this season.

In Pittsburgh, Travis Snider's two-out single in the bottom of the 11th inning drove in the deciding run and lifted the Pirates to a come-from-behind victory over the Reds at PNC Park.

Zack Cozart went 2-for-6 with an RBI triple for Cincinnati, which mustered only five hits total after its four-run first.

Reds starter Mat Latos struck out seven while giving up just two runs on three hits through six innings. Alfredo Simon (4-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing the winning run to score unearned over a 2 2/3-inning stint.

The Reds won five of six from the Rockies in 2012 to tie the all-time series record at 81-81 since 1993. Colorado won the 2011 series, 4-3.