Tulowitzki homers twice, Cook leaves with leg injury in Rockies’ 9-2 win over struggling Reds

Rockies beat Reds 9-2 for 6th straight win

DENVER — Troy Tulowitzki homered twice and the Colorado Rockies beat the struggling Cincinnati Reds 9-2 on Wednesday night, earning their sixth consecutive victory despite losing starter Aaron Cook to a leg injury.

Cook was struck in the lower right leg by a line drive off the bat of Joey Votto in the sixth inning. The right-hander hobbled around the mound for a few minutes, before gingerly walking off the field and into the dugout. The team reported the injury as a bruise and said he left the park to get X-rays.

Cook (6-8) was cruising along before he was struck by the comebacker, allowing one run and six hits in five-plus innings. It was his second straight win since coming off the disabled list with a right big toe ailment.

Tulowitzki provided the bulk of the offense, hitting a three-run homer in the third and a solo shot two innings later for his second career multihomer game.

Seth Smith had a solo shot while youngsters Jonathan Herrera and Eric Young Jr. each delivered a two-run single. Carlos Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a bloop single in the sixth.

The Rockies matched their longest winning streak of the season and remained 4½ games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL wild-card race.

Despite their fourth straight loss, the Reds still lead the NL Central by six games over St. Louis. The Cardinals lost 8-1 at Milwaukee.

Bronson Arroyo (14-10) was hit hard, yielding seven runs in 4 1-3 innings and surrendering a season-high three homers.

Votto went 3 for 3 to raise his average to .326. He also drove in a run in the first inning to give him 99 RBIs this season.

With Gonzalez swinging such a hot bat, teams are electing to pitch around him and take their chances with cleanup hitter Tulowitzki.

The strategy backfired Wednesday. After Dexter Fowler led off the third with a single, Arroyo carefully pitched to Gonzalez before walking him.

Tulowitzki jumped all over a hanging curve, hitting a drive to left for his 16th homer.

Then again, pitching to Gonzalez also can be quite hazardous. He hit a three-run drive in Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory and is challenging for the NL Triple Crown. He leads in batting average (.340) and RBIs (100), while trailing Albert Pujols by four homers.

Herrera made the most of a spot start, driving in two runs with a single to right in the second. Herrera was filling in for third baseman Melvin Mora, who was given the night off.

Votto singled in Drew Stubbs in the first and Paul Janish had an RBI single in the seventh for Cincinnati.

NOTES: Reds manager Dusty Baker said there hasn’t been much improvement lately with OF Laynce Nix (left ankle). Nix is eligible to come off the DL on Friday. … Reds OF Jay Bruce (right side strain) took more batting practice Wednesday. … Rockies INF Ian Stewart (strained oblique) took a day off from baseball activities after showing up Wednesday stiff and sore. … Nuggets F Chris Andersen sat in the lower section for the game, his hair styled into a Mohawk. … Rockies C Mike McKenry made his major league debut as a pinch hitter, flying out to shallow center.