No mercy on the Indians; Rockies go wild with 17 hits

DENVER (AP) — Greg Reynolds wasn’t worried about a return trip to the minors. He just didn’t want to have two bad starts in a row.

Five days after giving up eight runs in 31‚Ñ3 innings, Reynolds pitched six strong innings and led Colorado’s season-high 17-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with a run scored as the Rockies routed the Cleveland Indians 10-2 on Tuesday night.

“I was underachieving for my expectations,” he said. “It’s good to get back on track. There was no real pressure about Triple-A or anything, it was about pitching better.”

Reynolds (2-4) allowed one run on five hits and struck out four to earn his second win in his last three starts. He was helped by a big-time offensive outburst. Jeff Baker hit an inside-the-park home run, Brad Hawpe also homered and Matt Holliday went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Colorado, which has won three of four.

After his last outing, a 6-1 loss to San Francisco on June 12, Reynolds worked with pitching coach Bob Apodaca to straighten out his mechanics. The lessons paid off for the rookie, who lasted six innings for the fourth time in eight starts.

“There were some mechanical things I wasn’t doing well,” he said. “I felt way more comfortable with my mechanics tonight.”

The Rockies’ big offensive night helped, too. They got nine of their hits off of starter Paul Byrd (3-7), who took the loss after giving up five runs in four-plus innings.