DENVER (Interstat) — The Cincinnati Reds raced to an early lead and then held off a furious late rally by the Colorado Rockies, winning 9-6 on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.

Hunter Greene earned the win for Cincinnati, improving to 2-1 on the season. He worked six innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out seven. Ryan Feltner took the loss for Colorado, falling to 3-4.

The Reds seized control from the opening frame. Elly De La Cruz singled to lead off the game, and after a flyout, JJ Bleday walked. Nathaniel Lowe then cleared the bases with a three-run homer to right field, his 11th of the season, scoring De La Cruz and Bleday and giving Cincinnati a three-run lead. Eugenio Suárez followed with a single, and Tyler Stephenson crushed a two-run homer to left center, his seventh of the year, pushing the lead to five runs. The inning ended with a groundout, but the damage was done.

Cincinnati added three more runs in the second inning. Dane Myers doubled, and De La Cruz walked. Sal Stewart then launched a three-run homer to center field, his 20th of the season, scoring Myers and De La Cruz to make it 8-1. The Reds threatened further but left the bases loaded after three consecutive strikeouts.

Colorado had answered with a solo home run from Hunter Goodman in the bottom of the first, his 28th of the year, cutting the deficit to 5-1. But Greene settled in after that, retiring eight of nine batters at one point. The Rockies managed only a single in the second inning and did not reach base again until the fourth.

Cincinnati extended its lead to 9-1 in the fifth inning. Stephenson led off with a solo homer to left center, his second of the game and eighth of the season. The Reds finished with 10 hits and drew six walks.

The Rockies began their comeback in the sixth inning against Greene. Jake McCarthy singled, and Goodman followed with his second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left center, his 29th, pulling Colorado to 9-3. Greene struck out Willi Castro to end the inning.

Colorado continued to chip away in the eighth inning. After two quick outs, Mickey Moniak singled. Goodman then stepped to the plate and crushed his third home run of the game, a two-run blast to center field, his 30th, making it a 9-5 contest. The Rockies brought the tying run to the on-deck circle in the ninth. Castro led off with a solo home run to right field, his ninth, trimming the margin to 9-6. Kyle Karros followed with a single, but reliever Emilio Pagán struck out Troy Johnston and Tyler Freeman, then got Edouard Julien to pop out to first base to end the game.

The most critical stretch of the game came in the first two innings when Cincinnati’s offense erupted for eight runs against Feltner. The Reds’ ability to build a large cushion proved essential as the Rockies mounted a late charge. Stephenson was the top star for Cincinnati, going 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs. He entered the game mired in a recent slump, having gone 1 for 9 in his previous two contests before breaking out with a pair of homers. Lowe and Stewart also drove in three runs apiece.

For Colorado, Goodman was the standout, finishing 3 for 4 with three homers and five RBIs. His eighth-inning shot brought the Rockies within four, and his two-run homer in the sixth halted Greene’s momentum. Tanner Gordon pitched 5 2/3 innings in relief for Colorado, allowing only three hits and one earned run while striking out two. Jordan Romano and Brock Burke each tossed a scoreless inning for their respective clubs.

The game lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes in front of an announced crowd of 20,158 at Coors Field.

Cincinnati improved to 45-53 with the win, while Colorado fell to 40-61. The Reds snapped a one-game losing streak after falling 10-3 to the Rockies on Saturday. They took two of three in the series, having won 7-2 on Friday. Colorado had won four of its previous five home games entering Sunday.

Cincinnati’s next stop on the road trip is a three-game series at Seattle starting Monday. The Reds then visit St. Louis for a weekend set before returning home for a homestand against Cleveland and Pittsburgh. Colorado will host Washington for three games beginning Monday, then travel to Milwaukee and San Diego. The Rockies return home in late July to face Kansas City.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cincinnati 4, Colorado 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Reds a 57.70 percent probability to win before the game. Cincinnati was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. The combined total of 15 runs went under the over-under line of 11.