DENVER (AP) -- Brandon Phillips tripled, homered and doubled in his first three at-bats, Greg Reynolds beat his former team for his first major league win in two years, and the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on Saturday night.
Phillips scored three times, drove in two runs and just missed becoming the first Reds player to hit for the cycle since Eric Davis did it against the San Diego Padres on June 2, 1989.
Phillips struck out and grounded sharply to third in his last two at-bats.
He began the night with an RBI triple that rolled to the center-field wall, and scored on Joey Votto's groundout. Phillips connected in the third off Juan Nicasio for his 17th home run, then doubled to left in the fifth and scored.
Colorado's Todd Helton remained one hit shy of 2,500, going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts a night after homering twice and matching a career high with six RBIs.
Reynolds, the Rockies' first-round draft pick in 2006 who was traded two years ago to Texas, was signed to a minor league contract by the Reds last December.
Making his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville to fill in for injured Tony Cingrani, Reynolds (1-2) allowed three runs on seven hits over eight innings in his first career start against his former team.
He fanned five, striking out the side in the seventh, and walked none in his first big league win since July 2, 2011, against Kansas City while with the Rockies.
The Reds, leading 3-0, added three more runs in the fifth.
Shin-Soo Choo, who had three hits, singled to start the inning and Phillips doubled, his third extra-base hit of the game.
Nicasio (8-7), who had pitched erratically throughout his outing, intentionally walked Jay Bruce to load the bases with one out in the fifth and was relieved by Wilton Lopez.
Lopez, though, was charged with a balk before he threw his first pitch, advancing all three runners, including Choo, who trotted home. Ryan Ludwick then singled for the third time, scoring both Phillips and Bruce to put the Reds up by six.
The Rockies scored in the bottom half on pinch-hitter Jordan Pacheco's RBI double, but the Reds responded with another run in the sixth. Reynolds doubled over the head of left fielder Corey Dickerson and went to third on Choo's single. Phillips struck out before Votto singled up the middle to score Reynolds.
Choo added an RBI double in the eighth.
Dickerson homered in the eighth, a two-run shot off Reynolds that reached the right-field seats.
NOTES: Rockies RHP Tyler Chatwood (right elbow inflammation) was set to be activated from the 15-day disabled list to start Sunday's series finale against RHP Mike Leake (11-5). ... The balk by Lopez was his third of the season, tying him with Rockies reliever Rex Brothers and former Rockies reliever Edgmer Escalona for the NL lead.
