DENVER – A matchup between rookie pitcher Sal Romano of the Cincinnati Reds and Tyler Chatwood of the Colorado Rockies didn’t exactly have “pitchers duel” written all over it coming into Thursday afternoon’s contest. The former was making just his second MLB start and the latter’s difficulties at Coors Field have been well documented. But a low scoring game is what we got, at least until the things got away from the home club in the eighth. The Rockies offense continues to struggle mightily up and down the lineup.

With a 6-3 win, the Reds split the four-game series and dropped the Rockies to 3-4 over their last seven games.

Things got started in an ugly way for Chatwood in the first, giving up a lead-off triple to Billy Hamilton on a well-located pitch that the speedster just went down and got. Chatty then got ahead of Scooter Gennett but lost him, issuing the walk, then did the same but gave up a soft single to Joey Votto to score a run and put runners on first and third before and out had been recorded. But he bounced right back,  though, getting a big strikeout of Adam Duvall and an even bigger double play from Eugenio Suarez to end the threat and the inning having given up just the one run.

All-Star Game hopeful Mark Reynolds led off the bottom of the second with a single to right and was surprisingly put in motion on a 3-1 count with Pat Valaika at the plate. Valaika hit a grounder to second and it looked like Gennett had converted the double play but Reynolds slid around the tag making sure the aggressive decision paid off. With two outs, the struggling Trevor Story came through huge with a single up the middle that required yet another fantastic slide from Reynolds at home plate to score the tying run.

Chatwood got into trouble again in the third, allowing a lead-off double to Gennett and then walking Votto. He got a pop up to shallow left field from Duvall but a lack of communication between Reynolds and Carlos Gonzalez letting the ball to drop to the grass. CarGo did still convert an out at second but Gennett advanced to third which allowed him to score on a single from Suarez before Chatwood got another double play, this time Scott Schebler, but not before the Reds had retaken the lead at 2-1.

The tallied another with a two-out double from Duvall in the fifth that scored Gennett who had walked earlier in the frame, the fourth free pass Chatwood gave up in the game.

The Rockies punched back in the bottom of the frame, getting a one-out bunt single from Story who scored on a Tony Wolters double off the wall in right. It was a big swing for Wolters who has been slumping lately.

Chatwood finished strong in the sixth and overall had a good game, especially considering his track record going back to last year at Coors Field.

His final line: 6 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. He threw 63 of his 100 pitches for strikes. Obviously, the walk-to-strikeout ratio is not idea but giving up three runs over six innings to a good offense at this ballpark is a legitimate quality start.

Chris Rusin came on in the seventh and did his usual thing, recording the first 1-2-3 inning of the game for the Rockies. Colorado’s offense again left a runner on base in the bottom of the inning when Story reached via an error but was erased on a Wolters double play.

Then the Reds added an insurance run on a solo homer from Duvall in the eighth, a massive opposite-field blast off of Scott Oberg to make it 4-2. A single from Suarez and a double from Schebler gave them another and a double from Zack Cozart scored Schebler for the third run of the inning to make it 6-2, Reds.

Raimel Tapia led off the bottom of the eighth with a double, his second hit of the game and the third time he reached base in the game, and moved to third on an error from Schebler in right. He tagged up and scored on a shallow fly ball to center from DJ LeMahieu, again having to incorporate a creative slide to get around the tag.

Since being moved into a starting role on June 10, Tapia is hitting .391/.425/.560. He was the only Rockie to draw a walk in this game. He also seems to have passed his very first test as an MLB lead-off hitter.

The rest of the offense remains MIA.

Colorado dropped to 50-38 on the season but because of the Chicago Cubs woes remains six-and-a-half games up on the Wild Card. They are three games behind Arizona for the top Wild Card spot. For every concern that the Rockies have shown no signs of life lately that they can stay in the postseason hunt in the second half, nobody else has shown any signs that they are ready to take it from them.

The have a three-game home set against the Chicago White Sox before the All-Star break arrives.