Swift solid in first victory> Former Maine star lasts five innings

DENVER – Bill Swift gave the Colorado Rockies all he had, and it was enough.

Swift, who has had two shoulder surgeries in the past eight months, won for the first time this season as the Rockies beat Cincinnati 9-5 Monday night in a game shortened to seven innings by rain.

The game was halted in the bottom of the seventh and, when rain persisted, was called after a delay of 1 hour and 48 minutes.

Major league RBI leader Andres Galarraga homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs for the Rockies, increasing his RBI total to 124.

Swift, a South Portland native and former University of Maine star, was making only his second start of the season and his first since arthroscopic surgery on June 13.

Swift (1-0) lasted five innings, allowing six hits and five runs, four of them earned. Reliever Roger Bailey shut out the Reds in the sixth and seventh and earned his first save.

“When you give up five runs, it’s not that great,” Swift said. “But we won the game and that’s the most important thing. My shoulder felt good and I felt strong after the fifth, but we decided to shut it down [after 62 pitches].

“My velocity was there after the first inning, but my location wasn’t very good. I didn’t have a very good slider or sinker.”

Rockies manager Don Baylor said Swift “threw the ball well. I didn’t expect him to go as long as he did.”

Swift, 34, was 9-3 with the Rockies last season, but was slowed by injuries and two stints on the disabled list. He has been nagged by injuries since he won 21 games in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants.

The Rockies had four homers and a club record-tying 10 extra-base hits Monday night.

Kevin Mitchell and Lenny Harris had two RBIs apiece for the Reds.

“They [Rockies] are very aggressive and took advantage of our pitching more than anything,” Reds manager Ray Knight said. “They hammered the ball. They hit a lot of balls hard and far.”

Knight was most concerned about the health of his starter, Mark Portugal, who left the game in the second inning with a strained left hamstring after running out a grounder. He will be sidelined a minimum of two to three weeks.

After the game, the Reds put Portugal on the disabled list. Right-hander Roger Salkeld, on his way to Triple-A Indianapolis, instead was recalled.

With the score tied 5-5, Colorado pushed across two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth.

In the fifth, Galarraga hit his 39th homer and Jeff Reed hit his eighth. Both solo shots came against Kevin Jarvis (6-7).

The Rockies made it 9-5 in the sixth. After Larry Walker doubled off Scott Service, Galarraga hit an RBI double, stole third and scored on Vinny Castilla’s sacrifice fly.

The Reds greeted Swift with a two-run first inning.