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DENVER -- Johnny Cueto took off his hat, tucked his glove inside it and cradled them both like a football in his left arm as he sauntered ever-so-slowly off the mound after each inning. This was his little routine and it was working effectively for him. Of course, so were his almost unhittable cutter and four-seam fastball. Cueto threw eight stellar innings to become the first 15-game winner in the majors and Kris Negron had a career-high four hits, including a tiebreaking single in the ninth, as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Friday night. Cincinnatis ace came through in a big way. Cueto (15-6) allowed two runs and six hits to help the Reds snap a three-game skid. He is 7-0 since a loss at San Diego on July 2. "As a manager, its very comfortable being able to put your stock into one guy," Reds skipper Bryan Price said. "You go all in with Johnny and you dont fear losing the game late." Nolan Arenado was about the only Rockies hitter who was making good contact against Cueto. Arenado homered and had two deep flyouts. After watching Billy Hamilton catch his drive to centre in the eighth, Arenado passed by Cueto and grinned at something the pitcher said. "He was saying, You just missed that," Arenado recounted. "Hes one of the best in the league. Hes an animal. As the situation and innings got tighter, he got better." Negron lined a two-out single up the middle off Adam Ottavino (0-4) to bring in Ramon Santiago with the go-ahead run. Aroldis Chapman closed for his 26th save in 28 chances. Charlie Culberson drew a one-out walk and pinch-hitter Mike McKenry sent a shot down the line that first baseman Brayan Pena -- who started the game at catcher -- snared as he toppled over. Pena then touched first base with his glove to double up Culberson. Cueto worked his way out of a jam in the sixth after giving up a tying RBI double to Corey Dickerson. With one out and the bases loaded, Cueto struck out Culberson with a 95 mph fastball and then fanned D.J. LeMahieu with the same pitch. The hard-throwing righty splintered quite a few bats with his heavy pitches running in on the hands of hitters. "His cutter is just filthy," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Theres a reason why hes been as successful as he has been." The Rockies turned reliever Matt Belisle into an emergency starter when Franklin Morales was a late scratch after his wife went into labour. Belisle and five other relievers kept the game close until the ninth. Belisle allowed one run and tossed a season-high 49 pitches in three innings. It was his first start since May 25, 2008, with the Reds. "When you sign the contract, it doesnt tell you when youre going to pitch," Belisle said. "I looked at it as a great opportunity." FAMILY AFFAIR Negron picked quite a game to have his parents and grandmother fly in from California. He jokingly said hes going to have them take him to the same restaurant and then sit in the same seats Saturday. TRAINERS ROOM Reds: 3B Todd Frazier was out of the starting lineup with a balky back, which he hurt the night after hitting a ball off the end of his bat. "Pain shot up the right side of my back," Frazier said. He said he thinks its a muscle strain in his lower back. Hes day to day. Rockies: Weiss said it "sounds like things went well" with SS Troy Tulowitzkis hip surgery Friday in Vail. OF Carlos Gonzalez will have surgery on his left knee Monday. UP NEXT Reds: RHP Dylan Axelrod is expected to be brought up from Triple-A Louisville on Saturday to fill in for injured Homer Bailey, whos headed to the disabled list with a strained right elbow. It will be Axelrods first major league start since last September. Rockies: RHP Jordan Lyles (6-1, 3.70 ERA) will make his third start since returning from the DL. He missed two months with a broken left hand. Fake Padres Jerseys . -- When the Los Angeles Kings are on top of their formidable defensive game, they revel in the silence they can create in a frustrated road arena. Padres Jerseys China . -- One shot came out of bottom of a cactus, the other from the base of a desert bush with rocks scattered around it. https://www.cheappadresjerseys.us/. LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. San Diego Padres Shirts . -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury. San Diego Padres Gear . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - With the No. 1 player in the world already out of this years Masters, injuries are clearly the top storyline heading into the first major of the season. Tiger Woods, as we all know, had back surgery last Monday and is out of the tournament. If that wasnt enough, three of the next four players in the world rankings are also ailing. Henrik Stenson, the third-ranked player in the world, continues to play with wrist pain that he has been dealing with since last year. No. 4 Jason Day hasnt played since winning the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, while No. 5 Phil Mickelson is battling the newest injury. The three-time Masters champion and reigning British Open champ hurt his oblique at the Texas Open, and withdrew. After some practice at Augusta, he shared 12th at the Houston Open. While those four battle with injuries, the remainder of the field deals with a lack of momentum. Outside of the last two Masters winners, not many players have any momentum heading into Augusta. Reigning champion Adam Scott has six top-25 finishes in six starts this season. However, he did close the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a 76 to lose the title. The man who slipped the green jacket onto Scotts shoulders, 2012 Masters winner Bubba Watson, also has six top-25 finishes in eight starts this season. Watson also has a win and two runner-up finishes in that span. That victory for Watson was his first since donning the green jacket in 2012. Watson already has more top-10s this year than he had all of 2013, so his game is clearly in fine shape. As for the remainder of the field, two of the biggest storylines early in the 2013-14 wrap-around season have been Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed. Walker has three victories and Reed has a pair, making them the only multiple winners of the season. Thats the good news. The bad news for both, this is their first appearance in the Masters. Why is that bad news? Only Fuzzy Zoeller won the Masters in his first appearance. Could one of those players add their name to that short list? Since winning three times in eight events, Walker has cooled with five top-25 finishes, but none better than tied for 16th at the Texas Open. Reeds only start since his second victory ended in a tie for 52nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. What about the other two reigning major champions? U.S. Open champ Justin Rose has three top-10 finishes in seven starts, but is coming off a missed cut at Bay Hill and he has broken par in four of his last 10 stroke-play rounds. PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner has three top-10s in eight starts and he has been off since the Valspar Championship. Tough to say what to expect from either of them. As you can tell, the seasons first major is wide openn with no clear-cut favorite.dddddddddddd Will either of last years combatants be in the mix again this year? Scott and the man he beat in the playoff, Angel Cabrera, both are valid picks, but also have question marks. Scott, as mentioned above, blew the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the final round. Cabrera, on the other hand, has missed the cut in six of his seven PGA Tour starts dating to last October. Honestly though, that doesnt mean much when it comes to Cabrera and the Masters. He had two missed cuts and one finish inside the top 30 in seven starts last year before playing his way into the playoff with Scott. In 2011, the Argentine had missed three cuts in six starts, then tied for seventh at Augusta. When Cabrera won in 2009, he was coming off back-to-back missed cuts and hadnt finished better than tied for 13th. There is something about Augusta with Cabrera. Last year, Scott and Cabrera both birdied the final hole of regulation to get into the playoff. Scott made his first as Cabrera stood in the fairway and watched. Cabrera responded by stuffing his approach inside three feet. The 2009 Masters champion kicked that in for birdie to force the extra session. In the playoff, both players spun their approach shots off the front of the green on the first extra hole. Cabrera nearly holed his chip as it skirted the edge of the cup. Scotts chip stopped three feet short of the hole. They both made their par putts, and it was off to the 10th. Cabrera left himself 18 feet for birdie, but failed to convert. Scott drained his 12-footer for birdie and the win. It was a huge turnaround for Scott, who had bogeyed the final four holes of regulation at the 2012 British Open to lose the title. Watson also won his title in a playoff in 2012. Those were the first back-to- back playoffs since 1989-90, when Nick Faldo won consecutive green jackets. There has never been three straight playoffs at the Masters. How the scoring plays out depends on the condition of the course and the weather. Augusta was hit with several ice storms over the winter, and the biggest result of those storms was the loss of the Eisenhower tree that framed the tee shot on No. 17. The long range weather outlook shows dry conditions for the four tournament rounds after some rain earlier in the week. That sets up perfectly for how the tournament tends to play out. As the week goes on, the course gets firmer and faster making it harder to score. You will hear over those first few days that the tournament doesnt really start until the back nine on Sunday. Well, the last two years, the combatants were determined on that final nine, but settled in a playoff. Will it take another playoff this year? Time will tell, but one thing is for sure - this Masters is as wide open as any in recent memory. ' ' '