TJ Friedl belted a go-ahead two run home run and Andrew Abbott allowed two runs over six innings to lead the Reds past the Colorado Rockies, 6-4, Thursday afternoon in Cincinnati.
Nathaniel Lowe homered, doubled and scored twice and Spencer Steer went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for the Reds, who captured the rubber game of the series and won for the ninth time in 12 games to reach the 20-win plateau before May 1 for the first time in team history.
Cincinnati has its best 31-game start (20-11) since the 2006 team also went 20-11 to open the season.
Emilio Pagan gave up and RBI single to Mickey Moniak and a sacrifice fly to Jake McCarthy to make it a two-run game in the ninth.
Abbott (1-2) allowed just two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking two to earn his first win of the season in his seventh start. Abbott worked out of a one-out, bases loaded jam in the fifth inning, getting Brenton Doyle to ground into a force play at the plate for the second out and striking out Hunter Goodman on a foul tip to end the threat.
The Rockies got to Abbott in the first inning when Doyle walked with one out and Tyler Freeman connected on an Abbott fastball, driving to the first row of seats in right for his homer of the season and first since Aug. 16, 2025.
The Reds began their rally against Colorado starter and former Reds two-way player Michael Lorenzen. Lowe connected on a changeup for his fifth homer of the season to lead off the second. All five of Lowe’s home runs this season came during Cincinnati’s six-game homestand that concluded Thursday.
Lorenzen (2-3) was charged with four runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out five and walking three while yielding two home runs.
After Abbott worked out of the bases loaded jam in the fifth, the Reds answered in the bottom half by taking the lead for good. Steer worked a leadoff walk and one out later, Friedl connected for a home run into the seats in right.
Colorado had runners on first and second against Connor Phillips in the seventh but the right-hander worked out of the jam with three strikeouts in the inning.
