The Damage Report
Cincinnati scored five runs in the first inning and three in the second. Nathaniel Lowe hit a three-run homer, Tyler Stephenson followed with a two-run shot, and Sal Stewart added another three-run homer one inning later.
The Reds led 8-1 before Colorado had completed its second turn at the plate. That is not an early advantage. That is a game arriving with the conclusion printed on the first page.
Hunter Goodman refused the conclusion. He hit three home runs and drove in five for Colorado. The Rockies still lost 9-6, which is both an extraordinary individual line and a concise summary of why one hitter cannot negotiate with a seven-run deficit alone.
When This Stopped Being Competitive
Ryan Feltner allowed eight runs on seven hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings. Cincinnati’s first three home runs came from three hitters and produced all eight early runs.
That distribution mattered. Colorado could not isolate one matchup or wait for one dangerous bat to pass. Lowe punished the first opening, Stephenson extended it and Stewart made the next inning feel like a continuation of the same emergency.
Stephenson homered again in the fifth, giving him three hits, two home runs and three RBIs. Cincinnati had four home runs from three players before Colorado’s larger individual power show could make the score respectable.
People Who Understood the Assignment
Goodman homered in the first, sixth and eighth innings. His first was a solo shot. The next two each brought another runner home. He finished 3-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs.
Willi Castro added a solo homer in the ninth. Colorado’s six runs all came by home run, but five belonged to one hitter. The Rockies produced the loudest individual performance and the thinner collective answer.
Hunter Greene gave Cincinnati six innings, allowing three runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. He protected the early margin long enough that Goodman’s first two homers changed the atmosphere without changing control of the game.
How Much Should We Overreact?
The Reds can take more from this than a Coors Field power spike. They built the lead through several hitters, forced Colorado into immediate bullpen work and received six innings from Greene.
The Rockies can celebrate Goodman without pretending the result was close. Three home runs should normally own the day. When the starter allows eight runs, they become an excellent performance trapped inside someone else’s win graphic.
The Completely Unbiased Verdict
The verified Two-Inning Gap was Cincinnati plus seven. The Reds led 8-1 after the second and won by three.
Desk ruling: Goodman produced enough offense for a normal victory. Cincinnati had already created an abnormal problem. The Reds spread four home runs across three hitters, and Colorado spent seven innings trying to turn one man’s spectacular afternoon into a team result. The math declined.