Tulowitzki, Hawpe homer to lift Colorado to 7th straight win, 4-2 over Brewers

Tulowitzki, Hawpe homer for Rockies

MILWAUKEE — Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe homered and Jorge De La Rosa finally beat his old team, lifting the Colorado Rockies to their seventh straight win, 4-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

It is the Rockies’ longest streak since they won 11 in a row in September 2007. That run helped propel them to the playoffs and eventually the World Series before being swept by Boston.

The Rockies improved to 9-4 under manager Jim Tracy since he took over for Clint Hurdle.

Milwaukee, which won 18 games in May, still leads the NL Central, but have sputtered to a 3-6 start in June despite being ahead in every game this month.

In this one, the Brewers blew a 2-0 lead, just like they did Tuesday night.

Brewers starter Dave Bush (3-3) gave up a two-out solo homer in the fourth to Tulowitzki and three straight doubles in the fifth. Todd Helton’s double scored Clint Barmes and Hawpe’s double drove in Helton to give the Rockies a 3-2 lead. Hawpe homered off reliever Seth McClung in the seventh to make it 4-2.

Colorado relievers Randy Flores, Joel Peralta and Matt Daley stranded runners in scoring position in the seventh and eighth innings. Huston Street struck out the side in a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 12 chances.

De La Rosa (2-6) came into the game 0-2 with a 13.03 ERA in three appearances against Milwaukee, where he pitched for part of three seasons beginning in 2004.

Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead with three doubles in third inning. Ryan Braun’s two-out RBI double scored Casey McGehee. After Braun stole third, Prince Fielder hit an opposite-field double to left-center that center fielder Dexter Fowler couldn’t make a leaping grab of on the warning track.

Fielder’s RBI tied him with Philadelphia’s Raul Ibanez for the NL lead with 55, but De La Rosa got the better of the Brewers slugger striking him out with two on and two outs in the fifth.

De La Rosa, who started 0-6 this season, won his second straight decision and was finished after six innings, allowing two runs and four hits with eight strikeouts.

Colorado squandered a chance to break the game open with two on and no outs in the sixth, but Hawpe hit a towering solo homer to straightaway center for an insurance run in the seventh.

NOTES: There was only one single, but 14 walks in the game. … Bush gave up his 15th home run this season, second in the NL to Philadelphia’s Brett Myers. … Rockies RHP Taylor Buchholz (elbow) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday. Tracy said they will consider sending Buchholz out on a rehab assignment in the coming days. Buchholz has been on the 60-day DL after experiencing pain throwing before his only spring training appearance on Feb. 26.