CINCINNATI, July 16 (UPI) -- Orlando Cabrera's RBI double in the fifth inning gave Cincinnati a three-run lead Friday and the Reds held on to edge Colorado 3-2.
Bronson Arroyo (10-4) worked into the eighth inning for the Reds, who began the second half of the season with an unexpected lead in the National League Central.
Arroyo reached the 10-win mark for the fourth time in five seasons with Cincinnati, giving up two runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
Colorado had already scored a run in the eighth inning and had the bases loaded with nobody out when Arthur Rhodes came in to replace Arroyo. Rhodes got Dexter Fowler on a pop fly and then struck out Jonathan Herrera and Carlos Gonzalez to escape the threat.
Francisco Cordero walked one and struck out one in the ninth for his 25th save.
Cincinnati opened the night's action with a half game lead over St. Louis. This is the first time the Reds have led their division this late in the year since the final week of the 1999 season.
Jason Hammel (7-4) struck out a career-best 10 batters in seven innings, but gave up three runs on eight hits to take the loss. He had not suffered a setback since May 21, a stretch of 10 starts.
