Forecasted storms never materialized Wednesday afternoon in downtown Denver, but the Rockies offense thundered to life in the middle innings against Cincinnati.
The Rockies ripped off 11 runs between the fifth and sixth frames against Reds starter Graham Ashcraft and a host of relievers to turn a five-run deficit into an 11-6 win.
Colorado tallied 13 hits — 10 in the decisive innings — and did plenty of damage without the benefit of a home run on the afternoon.
“We just strung some hits together,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “… We put pressure on him and in those situations, when an offense gets rolling — we talk about it all the time as an offense — the pressure’s on the pitcher. We turned the tables because he had a lot of momentum those first four innings.”
Rockies right-hander Riley Pint made his major league debut in the ninth inning in what Black hoped would be a quiet inning, but the Reds pushed a run across and loaded the bases with one out, forcing Black to go to closer Pierce Johnson.
Johnson promptly notched his eighth save by popping up Wil Myers and striking out Jose Barrero.
The Rockies (19-25) grabbed two out of three from the Reds and now have won four out of five series in an 11-5 start to May. They are off Thursday, then visit the Texas Rangers for a three-game out-and-back trip before a seven-game homestand against Miami and the New York Mets next week.
Pintap debut came as a major milestone in a long road for the 2016 first-round draft pick, who retired from baseball two years ago before returning to the game in March 2022.
“It was pretty special,” said Pint, who was optioned back to Triple-A after the outing. “Those are the kinds of things you dream about growing up. Just to be out there on a big-league field, it was incredible.”
Pint induced a Jonathan India groundout but then walked Nick Senzel and Spencer Steer, gave up an RBI double to Stuart Fairchild and walked Kevin Newman before Black removed him. After Johnson secured the win, though, perspective and a little bit of levity prevailed.
“I was trying to stay in the moment, but it did kind of get to me a little bit. It was such a cool moment,” said Pint, who added part of the reason he struggled with his command may have been nerves but also, “day games are tough. I have sweaty hands, so itap kind of tough gripping the ball.”
Added Black, “For us in the dugout, the coaching staff and a lot of people in the dugout who have been connected with Riley since 2016, it brought a smile to a lot of peoples’ faces for sure. I always love a debut and I always love seeing talent and the potential of what could be.”
That he took the mound with a big lead in the first place seemed unlikely early on as the Reds tagged Colorado starter Austin Gomber for five earned runs over his 84 pitches and 4 ⅓ innings.
Gomber had rolled through his last four starts, but surrendered two runs in the second inning and three more in the fifth, including a 424-foot home run from catcher Luke Maile. Gomber overall allowed eight hits and a pair of walks and his season ERA now sits at 6.70.
“They did a good job and made me work,” Gomber said. “Physically just one of those days where I felt like I didn’t have my best stuff. Nothing felt sharp and I kind of knew early on it was going to be a grinder day.”
The Rockies offense wasted no time picking him up, stringing together three straight hits in the fifth and cracking the scoreboard when Charlie Blackmon drew a bases-loaded walk.
Jurickson Profar doubled in two and Elias Diaz singled home another pair to even the game in the fifth, then rookie center fielder Brenton Doyle’s two-run triple to left center gave Colorado its first lead at 7-5 in the sixth.
Profar, Kris Bryant and Diaz, the Nos. 2-4 hitters, combined for six hits on the afternoon and seven runs driven in, all of which came in the fifth and sixth innings. Profar’s now reached base safely in 27 straight games.
Rockies reliever Brent Suter (2-0) picked up the win with a scoreless sixth and Jake Bird added two scoreless innings to settle the game down between Gomber and Pint.
