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Holliday, Hawpe hope to spark Rockies to series win

Aug 24, 2008 - 7:12 AM Cincinnati (57-73) at Colorado (60-71) 3:05 pm EDT

DENVER (Ticker) -- Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe rediscovered their hitting stroke on Saturday and the Colorado Rockies returned to their recent winning ways.

The duo attempts to carry over their hitting prowess on Sunday when the Rockies against the Cincinnati Reds.

Colorado won five straight road games before losing on Thursday to the Dodgers and the series opener to the Reds on Friday.

A key component to their five-game run was the combo of Holliday, who hit .316 (6-for-19) with seven runs scored during the streak, and Hawpe, who batted .450 (9-for-20) with three homers and 10 RBI.

However, both players combined to hit .118 (2-for-17) in the back-to-back defeats before getting back on track. Holliday cracked a bases-clearing double and Hawpe followed with an RBI single during a four-run seventh that powered Colorado to a 7-6 win.

Holliday and Hawpe will be looking to support Ubaldo Jimenez (9-11, 3.99 ERA). The righthander struck out seven over five frames in Sunday's 8-3 triumph over the Dodgers, permitting three runs and eight hits.

The Reds will counter with rookie Johnny Cueto (8-12, 4.74), who has posted one victory since July 3. The righthander was sharp against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, but suffered the loss after allowing one run and four hits over seven frames in a 5-0 setback.