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Colorado Rockies blast three homers in win over Milwaukee Brewers

By Jack Etkin, The Sports Xchange
Charlie Blackmon and the Colorado Rockies raced past the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI
Charlie Blackmon and the Colorado Rockies raced past the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo

DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies' history against Milwaukee starter Matt Garza wasn't recent, but it was robust.

Picking up where they left off, the Rockies pounded Garza on Friday night and beat the Brewers 8-4.

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Garza, who last faced the Rockies on June 21, 2015, gave up three homers among the nine hits he allowed and eight runs (seven earned) in 4 1/3 innings.

Charlie Blackmon hit his sixth leadoff homer and the 28th of his career. Gerardo Parra hit his 10th homer in the fifth, and two batters later Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer that gave the Rockies an 8-2 lead and finished Garza's outing. He has failed to pitch six innings in six straight starts.

Garza (6-7) is 2-6 with a 6.90 ERA in eight starts against the Rockies and is 0-4 with a 10.02 ERA in four starts at Coors Field.

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The win was the fourth in 11 games for the Rockies, who moved one game ahead of Arizona in the National League wild-card race.

The Brewers, whose four-game winning streak ended, fell into fourth place, a half game behind St. Louis in the chase for second wild-card spot.

Rockies starter German Marquez (10-5) gave up a career-high three home runs but all came with the bases empty.

After giving up single runs in the third and fourth, Marquez yielded back-to-back homers in the sixth to Keon Broxton and Orlando Arica, both long drives over the fence in center.

Those homers trimmed Colorado's lead to 8-4 and ended Marquez's start after 5 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits and four runs with one walk and six strikeouts and surrendered a career-high three home runs.

Four Rockies relievers combined to hold the Brewers scoreless for the final 3 1/3 innings. Closer Greg Holland, who had gone three days without pitching, finished in a non-save situation.

Gerardo Parra extended the Rockies' lead to 6-2 when he led off the fifth with his 10th home run and just his second since July 17. Garza then struck out Mark Reynolds, who reached first base on a wild pitch thrown on the third strike, and Carlos Gonzalez followed with an opposite-field two-run homer that increased the lead to 8-2 and finished Garza.

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It was the third homer off Garza, who gave up nine hits and eight runs (seven earned) in 4 1/3 innings.

Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw made a sprawling stop of Trevor Story's hard grounder in the fourth, tried for a forceout but threw wide of second base. And Gonzalez, who was on second, continued home to make it 5-2.

But Garza escaped a big inning. He intentionally walked Blackmon with one out and first base open and got DJ LeMahieu to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Nolan Arenado tripled home two runs in the third and scored to give the Rockies a 4-2 lead when Parra followed with a single, lining a ball that went off the glove of leaping shortstop Orlando Arcia. Arenado's drive hit off the right-field wall

Marquez began the inning by hustling a single into a double before Charlie singled.

Domingo Santana tied the score at 1 when he hit his 20th homer in the second, and the Brewers went ahead 2-1 in the third when Eric Thames led off with a triple and Neil Walker followed with a single.

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Blackmon hit his 29th homer to open the first. It was his sixth leadoff homer of the season and the 28th of his career.

NOTES: Rockies RHP Jeff Hoffman and INF Ryan McMahon were optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque and RHP Scott Oberg and OF Mike Tauchman were recalled. ... Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela will take Hoffman's place in the rotation. ... Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado was in the lineup. He left in the seventh inning Thursday with a bone bruise on his left hand where he was hit with a hard grounder. ... Brewers C Stephen Vogt (left knee sprain) was reinstated and C Andrew Susac (right trapezius strain) was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to Aug. 15. ... The Brewers hit back-to-back homers for the sixth time this season and first time since July 25 at Washington.

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