Before Tuesday night's game, Colorado Rockies outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds expressed respect for his former employers, the Reds.

        “Even when they don't play well,” Hammonds said, “they have enough that they can win.”

        The Reds had enough against Colorado. Barely.

Aaron Boone makes a spectacular throw that just missed getting Jeffrey Hammonds out at first in the ninth inning at Cinergy Field Tuesday (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Dmitri Young homered leading off the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and Cincinnati won 3-2 before 24,060 at Cinergy Field.

        The Reds had lost six straight games, and also 11 of their previous 12 games entering the series opener against the Rockies.

        Fortunately for the Reds, their starting pitcher was Osvaldo Fernandez, who continued to excel.

        Fernandez lasted 7ô innings, allowing both Colorado runs and six hits. This was quite an effort, given the Rockies' major league-leading .303 batting average.

        The victory went to Danny Graves (9-1), who got out of a two-on, one-out threat in the eighth inning when Ken Griffey Jr. made a diving catch of Jeff Cirillo's bloop to short center field, starting a double play.

        Graves also worked the ninth inning, ending the game with Brent Mayne's double-play grounder.

        Cincinnati's evening began well with two first-inning runs off Astacio, who had yielded only two earned runs in his previous three road starts.

        Barry Larkin hit his first of two doubles and scored on Dante Bichette's two-out single to right field. After Young singled, Sean Casey's ground-rule double sent home Bichette.

        Helton, a Most Valuable Player candidate, made it 2-1 with his first homer with one out in the second inning. It was the first homer Fernandez had surrendered in 30 innings, dating to May 13.

        That was it for either team until Helton opened the seventh inning with his 21st homer of the season.

Pokey Reese completes the double play that ended the game for a Reds win in the ninth. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        The Reds left six runners in scoring position. But Young, who went 3-for-4, didn't need anybody to drive him in. He hit Astacio's first pitch of the eighth an estimated 364 feet for his eighth homer of the season.

        After spending the road trip complaining that they weren't getting any breaks, the Reds continued to watch luck conspire against them in each of the first five innings:

        •Had Casey's ground-rule double remained in play, Young, who had to hold at third base, would have scored. The next batter, Aaron Boone, lined out to second base.

        •Larkin apparently homered to left-center field with two outs in the second inning. But not really, because Colorado's Tom Goodwin made a nice leaping catch, soaring at least a foot above the top of the wall to snare the drive.

        •Rockies third baseman Jeff Cirillo made a diving stop of Bichette's third-inning grounder, starting a double play.

        •Colorado first baseman Helton dove to stop Fernandez's fourth-inning grounder, freezing Boone at third base. The Reds didn't score.

        •With one out and Larkin on second base in the fifth, Bichette drove an 0-1 pitch over the left-field wall that curled foul at the last minute.

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