CINCINNATI — TJ Friedl hit a three-run homer on a four-hit night, rookie Elly De La Cruz added a solo shot, and the Cincinnati Reds extended their winning streak to 10 games with an 8-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
“I remember what it was like to lose a game,” Friedl said. “That’s why we’re trying to stay as far away from it as possible.”
Will Benson had a solo homer in the sixth, helping the NL Central-leading Reds to their longest winning streak since 2012, when they also won 10 straight. De La Cruz had three hits as fans chanted “Elly! Elly!”
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“We’re very appreciative of the opportunity we have,” Reds manager David Bell said. “We’ve experienced what that feel like and we want to keep it going. What great crowds we’ve had the last two nights that means a lot to our team.”
Jorge Alfaro’s three-run homer in the eighth, which bounced off the top of the fence in center, couldn’t keep the Rockies from their seventh straight loss.
The Reds scored two runs in the fifth with the help of three throwing errors by Colorado righthander Peter Lambert, two on attempted pickoffs at second.
Nolan Jones hit a solo homer off of Cincinnati righthander Ben Lively in the first, setting up the Reds for their National League-best 25th come-from-behind win.
Lively allowed a season-high four walks and gave up three hits and two runs with four strikeouts in four innings.
Alex Young (2-0), the second of six Cincinnati pitchers, faced the minimum three batters in the fifth for the victory. Alexis Díaz allowed a run before escaping a bases-loaded jam with a whiff of Alfari for his 20th save in 20 opportunities.
Friedl followed back-to-back two-out walks by Benson and Curt Casali, the eighth and ninth batters in Cincinnati’s lineup, with a drive into the first row of the right- field seats off right-hander Noah Davis in the second.
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The switch-hitting De La Cruz went opposite field to left in the third for his second homer since being called up June 6. Spencer Steer added an RBI double in the inning.
The speedy De La Cruz reached in the fifth with a single off the body of Lambert, who threw the ball away after collecting it. De La Cruz went to third on an errant pickoff try and scored on Fraley’s double.
Before the game, Reds outfielder Wil Myers was designated for assignment after he was activated from the 10-day injured list.
The Reds owe about $4.19 million from the $7.5 million, one-year contract he agreed to on Dec. 22. An 11-year veteran, the 32-year-old had been sidelined with a kidney stone and a left shoulder sprain. Myers hit .189 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 32 games before he was sidelined.
Cincinnati has seven days to trade him or place him on waivers. Because he has more than three years of service, Myers cannot be assigned outright to the minor leagues without his consent.
Myers was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2013 with Tampa Bay and an All-Star in 2016 with San Diego.