CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) — Skip Schumaker hit a game-winning double in the ninth inning, and the Reds ended a nine-game losing streak — their longest in 17 years — with a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night.
Players piled out of their dugout for a wild celebration near second base after Schumaker’s pinch hit ended the Reds’ longest slump since they dropped 11 in a row under manager Jack McKeon in 1998.
Cincinnati had the second-longest losing streak in the majors this season, trailing Colorado’s 11-game slide from April 28 to May 13.
Brooks Brown (0-2) walked Marlon Byrd opening the ninth. Kristopher Negron’s sacrificed, and Schumaker hit an opposite-field liner that landed just inside the left-field foul line. Jay Bruce led the charge of Reds players onto the field, and injured pitcher Johnny Cueto poured a bottle of water of Schumaker’s head.
Aroldis Chapman (3-3), who had given up runs in each of his prior two appearances, escaped a two-on threat in the ninth by striking out Nolan Arenado.
Cueto, meantime, will miss at least one more start after an MRI found inflammation in his pitching elbow.
Results on Tuesday showed no major damage in the right elbow. Cueto, who won 20 games last season, had to skip a scheduled start over the weekend because of stiffness.
Manager Bryan Price says Cueto will throw in the next few days and see how the elbow feels. If the stiffness is gone, he will have a bullpen session. The Reds would then consider when to let him start again.