Cuts » bounced from the first round of the NIT by Florida

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Carlos Gonzalez arrived early at Great American Ball Park expecting to face Johnny Cueto. He got a little extra practice on his swing, trying to make it faster for one of the toughest pitchers in the majors. The Rockies home run leader was ready to face the best. Instead, he got a rookie making his first start in the majors, and simply overpowered him. Gonzalez tied his career high with three homers -- two of them off Pedro Villarreal -- and Troy Tulowitzki went 5 for 5 with a pair of homers on Wednesday night, sending Colorado to a 12-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. "Today I showed up early, tried working on my hands, feeling good at the plate," said Gonzalez, who has 17 homers. "This is a good place to hit." The Rockies hadnt hit six homers in a game since they had that many against the Marlins on July 4, 2008, according to STATS LLC. "When we get some guys hitting in our lineup at the same time, its a dangerous lineup," manager Walt Weiss said. "Two really good players in the middle of our lineup were swinging the bat well tonight." Gonzalez got Colorados splurge going with a solo shot and a three-run homer off Villarreal (0-1), who was roughed up by one of the NLs top offences in his first big league start. The right-hander was called up from Triple-A earlier in the day because Cueto had lingering problems with a muscle in the back of his pitching shoulder. Gonzalez was mentally ready to face Cueto, against whom he is 4 for 10 with a homer. Instead, he got a young pitcher just trying to throw strikes. "Its a weird feeling," Gonzalez said. "Sometimes you like facing a guy youve seen a few times rather than a guy youve never seen before. Tonight we saw a lot of pitches in the strike zone." Tulowitzki tied his career high with five hits, including a two-run homer and a solo shot. Todd Helton also homered as the Rockies piled up a season-high 20 hits, the most allowed by Cincinnati since 2009. The Reds came in with the second-best earned run average in the NL. "The young kid had a rough night," manager Dusty Baker said. "He was leaving balls up in the zone and out over the heart of the plate. You do that and youre in trouble." Jon Garland (4-6) gave up four runs -- all in the first -- and lasted six innings. The Rockies took the last two games of their series, ending a streak of six straight losses against Cincinnati. Colorado is 3-6 against the Reds over the last two seasons. "To beat those guys two out of three is big," Helton said. "Thats a good team over there." The Reds put Cueto on the 15-day disabled list before the game, the second time this season that their top starter has been sidelined by a strained muscle in the back of his shoulder. Cincinnatis top starter was out from April 15 to May 19 with the injury. Villarreal was promoted instead of left-hander Tony Cingrani because it was his turn to start at Triple-A Louisville. Weiss didnt change his lineup for the right-handed Villarreal, who lasted only 3 2-3 innings and allowed 10 hits and six runs. Gonzalez hit his solo homer in the first. Tulowitzki had a two-run shot in the third, his second homer in two games. He also had a two-run homer in the eighth inning Tuesday for a 5-4 win. Gonzalezs three-run homer in the fourth -- one that went an estimated 476 feet -- gave him 10 multihomer games in his career, two this season. He added a two-run shot in the eighth off Manny Parra. He also hit three in a game against Houston on May 30 last season. Garland also had a rough time in the first inning, when Xavier Paul hit a three-run shot for a 4-1 lead. Garland is one of the NLs best at getting ground balls. After Pauls homer, he retired 13 of the next 17 batters on grounders or strikeouts. Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips missed his fourth straight game with a bruised left forearm, which was hit by a pitch. Hes expected back for a weekend series against first-place St. Louis. NOTES: An MRI on Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood found nothing more than inflammation in his triceps. Hes expected to miss one start. Chatwood had to leave his start on Monday in Cincinnati during the fifth inning because of soreness in the triceps. ... Rockies CF Dexter Fowler was sick and out of the starting lineup. ... Reds OF Chris Heisey plans to start a rehab assignment on Friday at Triple-A Louisville. Heisey has been on the disabled list since April 29 with a pulled right hamstring. ... Bengals players took batting practice before the game. Theyre holding supervised workouts this week. Custom Seattle Mariners Nike Jerseys . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Custom Philadelphia Phillies Nike Jerseys . -- Vincent Lecavalier got everything but the desired result in his return to Tampa Bay. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-milwaukee-brewers-nike-jerseys . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Custom Minnesota Twins Nike Jerseys . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Custom Atlanta Braves Nike Jerseys . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The last time Davidson had a high-scoring point guard, he led the Wildcats to the brink of the Final Four and went on to become a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.Seven years after baby-faced Stephen Curry electrified a nation in the NCAA Tournament, another top-notch shooter has emerged for the Wildcats in Jack Gibbs.Gibbs, a senior, leads the Atlantic-10 in scoring for the second straight season and is tied for 10th in the country with 23.4 points per game. Last season, Gibbs finished sixth overall, averaging 23.5 points per game.Longtime Davidson coach Bob McKillop wont compare Gibbs to Curry -- Steph Curry is a once in a lifetime player, so theres no comparison, he said before the season. But he does think Gibbs could become the first Davidson player in the NBA since Curry, the seventh overall pick by the Golden State Warriors in 2009.I certainly do, McKillop said. I am a great optimistic and a great dreamer, but I think Jack Gibbs is going to prove himself worthy of playing at the next level.Gibbs probably wont appear on 2017 NBA mock drafts, but he has been named to the Naismith Trophy 50-man watch list. Hes also a candidate for the Bob Cousy Award as the countrys top point guard and the John Wooden Award as college basketballs most outstanding player.Gibbs scored 33 points on 8-of-14 shooting from 3-point range in Davidsons 78-57 road win against Mercer on Tuesday night.After hopefully guiding the Wildcats back to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2015, Gibbs has his eye on a pro career.That is the plan right now, Gibbs said at the teams preseason media day. That has been my dream since I was a kid and Im trying to put myself in that position. I think we are going to have a pretty good year and I think that will help me fulfill that dream.Davidson (5-1) is off to a solid start and figures to be competitive in its third season in the A-10 behind Gibbs, who battled back from a shoulder injury he sustained in practice leading up to the season.Curry has seen Gibbs in action a few times, including once in Charlotte last season while the Golden State Warriors were in town for a game against the Hornets. Gibbs rose to the occasion, making his first 14 shots and finishing with 41 points, including 6 of 7 from 3-point range as the Wildcats hammered the Charlotte 449ers 109-74.ddddddddddddurry was impressed.Hes obviously really talented, really skilled with the ball, a competitor and a gamer, Curry said Wednesday. So hell finish out his college career Im sure on a high note and have a lot of opportunity on this level to get another Wildcat in the NBA. Obviously his senior year is going to be a big year for him.Curry invited Gibbs to his basketball camp for top college guards, where he had a chance to learn from the former NBA champion.He taught about how to get a shot off, Gibbs said. He may not always be the quickest guy or most athletic but he can score better than pretty much anybody in the league.Not that Gibbs needs much help finding the bottom of the net.He scored 40 points in a game three times last season, and 35 or more seven times. Six of his 10 30-point performances came against Atlantic-10 competition in 2015.McKillop said Gibbs, a big Ohio State Buckeyes fan from Westerville, Ohio, is playing the best hes played in his four years at Davidson.The Wildcats are looking to bounce back after getting bounced from the first round of the NIT by Florida State last season.McKillop believes this team has the talent to do that.The depth and versatility is at the highest level weve ever had, combined, since Ive been here, said McKillop, now in his 28th season at Davidson.That means Gibbs may not have to shoulder as much of the scoring load with teammates like versatile 6-foot-7 forward Peyton Aldridge (19.5 points, 7. 2 rebounds per game), forward Will Magarity and guard Jordan Watkins (8.3 ppg each).Gibbs size -- hes just 6-foot, 195 pounds -- could hinder his chance of being drafted, but McKillop said he has several intangibles, including an incredible work ethic.One of the coaches in the league made a comment about how he sat on his left hand because he cant dribble with his left hand and that hangs over Jacks locker, McKillop said. Jack has that reminder that they dont think he can dribble with his left hand, so hes really worked with his left hand.---AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '