CINCINNATI -- If the Rockies are going to get on a roll and build momentum, they need their starting pitchers to perform well on a consistent basis. 

The starters did just that during this weekend’s series against the Reds. Unfortunately, the offense sputtered in the final two games at Great American Ball Park. 

Yonder Alonso hit a two-run home run and Peter Lambert allowed two runs in five innings, but the Rockies went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position in a 3-2 loss to the Reds on Sunday.

• Box score

“I think we had some really good at-bats,” Alonso said. “We just need to continue that process and believe that we’re going to [hit] and get guys in. It’s a professional team. It’s a team that wants to fight. They’re hungry and have a winning mentality. That’s all you can ask for.”

Colorado went 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position over the final two games of the series. The Rockies had 10 hits Sunday, but failed to generate a big rally. 

“We’ve got to get the big hit,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We’re getting guys out there, a lot of that came with two outs. We couldn’t get the big knock that changes the game.” 

Lambert gave the Rockies their third straight solid outing by a starter, walking one and striking out four over 90 pitches on an 87-degree day. 

“I thought he threw the ball well,” Black said. “He got taxed in the second, pitch count elevated, got tired on a hot day and still managed to get five innings.”  

Lambert labored in the second, allowing two runs and four hits as the Reds grabbed a 2-0 lead, but then only allowed two hits over his next three innings. 

“The second inning dragged out on me,” Lambert said. “I felt good out there. Down 2-0, trying to keep us in the game, I was able to bring a little extra.”

Reds starter Alex Wood, who was making his season debut, allowed five hits through his first four innings, until Alonso launched a breaking ball for his eighth homer of the season deep into the right-center-field stands, tying the score at 2. 

It was Alonso’s first home run as a member of the Rockies and the 98th of his career. It was his fourth career homer against the Reds, his former team. 

"Just trying to get a good pitch, get a strike,” Alonso said. “I put a good path to it. [Wood] was changing speeds well. He was locating pretty well. [The Reds] made pretty good plays on defense, too."

Tucker Barnhart’s RBI single off Jake McGee in the sixth put the Reds in front, 3-2. Barnhart, who entered the day as a .200 batter, went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs.

The Rockies threatened in the sixth and eighth innings, but failed to score. Then in the ninth, they had runners on first and second with two outs against Reds closer Raisel Iglesias, but Ian Desmond grounded out to end the game.

“We put together some good at-bats in the ninth,” Black said. 

The Rockies finished the road trip with a 3-7 record. They begin a six-game homestand Monday, first facing the Dodgers. 

“The takeaway is: We need to keep playing, keep fighting like we have been,” Black said. “Get some clutch hits. Continue the starting pitching that seems to be taking a little bit of an upturn. That’s what we need to do.”