Colorado Rockies Waste Rusin’s Start, Lose A Walk-Off To Cincinnati Reds

May 4, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Reds 3rd baseman Todd Frazier (21) gets mobbed by his teammates after hitting a walk off double to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Rob Leifheit-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds met for game two of their three-game series Tuesday afternoon at Great American Ballpark in southern Ohio. 

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The Colorado Rockies wasted a great performance by emergency starting pitcher Chris Rusin, and a soft double in the bottom of the ninth inning off the bat of Skip Schumaker won the game 2-1 in walk-off fashion for the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park.

Chris Rusin made a spot start for the Rockies on Tuesday night in place of Jorge De La Rosa, and impressed early, keeping the Reds off balance and keeping the Rockies in the game.

The Reds pushed one run across in the bottom of the second inning, when Billy Hamilton drove in Marlon Byrd with a single to make it a 1-0 game in favor of the Reds.

The Rockies got their run back in the top of the fifth inning when Nick Hundley hit a no-doubt solo home run off Reds’ starter Michael Lorenzen to make the game 1-1. It was Hundley’s fifth home run of the season.

Rusin ended up finishing seven full innings, allowing just the one run on only four hits and four walks, while striking out five. Rusin threw 90 pitches in his seven innings, remaining economical and keeping the Rockies in a tie game heading to the eighth on a rainy night in Cincinnati.

Matching him inning for inning, Lorenzen also threw seven frames allowing just one run, and the bullpens for each team took over for the eighth, first with Jumbo Diaz coming on for Cincinnati. Diaz – and then Brooks Brown for the Rockies, and Aroldis Chapman for the Reds – held the game 1-1 going into the bottom of the ninth.

In that frame, Brown returned for his second inning of work and allowed a leadoff walk to Marlon Byrd, who was then promptly sacrificed to second base by Kristopher Negron.

That sacrifice brought Skim Schumaker to the plate as a pinch-hitter, who doubled down the left field line and brought home Byrd for the walk-off victory.

Brooks Brown took the loss for the Rockies, while Aroldis Chapman earned the victory in relief for the Reds.

The Rockies and Reds finish their series Wednesday with a day game, before the Rox get Thursday off and head to Philadelphia for a weekend series.