Reds pull out series opener with D'backs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Brandon Phillips went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a four-game series.
Zack Cozart drove in a pair of runs, while Bronson Arroyo (12-9) won his third straight start as he gave up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts over six innings for the Reds, who have won seven of their past nine.
Martin Prado hit a two-run single while Aaron Hill homered for the Diamondbacks, who had won five of six coming into the game. Randall Delgado (4-4) gave up five runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts over six innings to lose for the first time in seven starts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We had our chances but we weren't able to add on beyond three," said D'backs manager Kirk Gibson.
The Reds got on the board in the second inning as Phillips led off with a triple and later scored on Cozart's sacrifice fly.
Arizona tied the game in the fourth as Hill hit a two-out solo homer, his ninth of the season, but Cincinnati went back on top in the home half.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joey Votto singled to start the frame and Phillips followed with a base hit. Jay Bruce then brought home a run with a single, Ryan Ludwick followed with an RBI double, and Cozart made it a 4-1 game with a run-scoring groundout.
Todd Frazier led off the fifth with his 13th home run of the season for a 5-1 advantage.
In the sixth, Arizona loaded the bases with one out and made it a two-run game after Prado scored two with a single to left. However, Jason Kubel hit into a fielder's choice and Wil Nieves fouled out to end the inning.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Manny Parra kept the D-backs off the board in the seventh, while J.J. Hoover worked a 1-2-3 eighth.
Aroldis Chapman came on to close the game and gave up a leadoff single to Kubel. Nieves, though, hit a grounder to short with Cozart tossing to Phillips, who tagged the base and then fired the ball to first while leaping to avoid Kubel for the double play. Cliff Pennington brought the tying run to plate again in the inning with a single, but A.J. Pollock flied out and Chapman picked up his 31st save of the season.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hill has a 12-game hitting streak ... Arizona took two of three from Cincinnati in Arizona in late June ... Arroyo is 8-3 in 15 career starts against the Diamondbacks ... Delgado is 0-1 in four games against the Reds.