Washington, DC (Best E Casino) - Brad Hawpe belted a two-run homer, as the Colorado Rockies edged the lowly Washington Nationals, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game series.

Troy Tulowitzki added a solo homer for the Rockies, who have won two of their last three games. Matt Holliday contributed an RBI double to the victory.

Jorge De La Rosa (6-6) picked up the win after he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out seven in six innings of work. Manny Corpas, Taylor Buchholz and Brian Fuentes combined to toss three innings of one-hit ball in relief.

"He battled," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said of De La Rosa. "He bent, but he didn't break. He struggled with his command."

Ronnie Belliard finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored for Washington, which has lost eight games in a row.

"We had our chances, but couldn't drive in runs," Nationals manager Manny Acta said.

Tim Redding (8-8) took the loss after he yielded four runs on seven hits over six innings. The right-hander is just 1-5 in his last six starts.

Trailing 2-1, the Rockies pulled ahead with a two-out rally in the fifth. Seth Smith singled to extend the inning and Holliday doubled in the tying run before Hawpe launched an offering from Redding over the wall in center for his 20th home run of the season and a 4-2 Rockies advantage.

Washington got a run back in the sixth. Austin Kearns was plunked to open the inning, took second on a wild pitch, scampered to third on a Jesus Flores fly ball and scored on an RBI groundout by Aaron Boone.

Pinch-hitter Willy Taveras led off the seventh with a single, then swiped his MLB-leading 54th base of the season, breaking the Rockies single-season record set by Eric Young in 1996.

Clint Barmes sacrificed to send the runner to third, but Jesus Colome retired Smith and Holliday to end the threat.

Fuentes struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 23rd save.

The Nationals picked up a run in the opening frame, as Emilio Bonifacio doubled to begin the inning and Belliard followed with an RBI single to right. Colorado evened the score in the third on Tulowitzki's one-out blast to center.

Belliard led off the third with a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and crossed the plate on a Ryan Zimmerman single for a 2-1 Nationals lead.

Game Notes

The Rockies have homered in a season-high 10 straight games (14 total in that span)...Taveras collected another stolen base in the ninth...Washington left seven men on base, while the Rockies stranded six...Colorado's Livan Hernandez (0-1) and Washington's John Lannan (6-11) are scheduled to start on Saturday.