CINCINNATI -- Nolan Arenado sacrificed himself at the plate and in the field on Monday afternoon.

In the eighth inning, the Colorado Rockies third baseman dove head-first into the seats while catching a foul pop.

In the ninth, Arenado, who also homered, drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly, lifting Colorado to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.

The Reds lost their ninth in a row, their worst slump in 17 years.

"He plays with reckless abandon," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Arenado. "That's who he is."

Colorado (18-25) won its third straight despite playing without two of its offensive centerpieces: Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez was scratched due to illness and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was given a day off.

Arenado picked up most of the slack on Monday, going 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.

After right-fielder Brandon Barnes made a similar lunge into the stands to catch second baseman Brandon Phillips' pop fly in the second, Arenado did him one better on Skip Schumaker's pop-up in the eighth.

"It hurt my throat," Arenado said of his tumble into the seats. "I think it was concrete. It hurt when it first happened. But, I'm OK now."

John Axford pitched the ninth for his seventh save. Rafael Betancourt (2-1) earned the victory.

In the ninth, leadoff batter Charlie Blackmon walked against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman (2-3) and advanced to third on second baseman D.J. LeMahieu's single.

Blackmon tagged on Arenado's fly ball and slid home with the decisive run just ahead of center fielder Billy Hamilton's throw.

"It was a little (shallow). I was trying to get the ball to the outfield," Arenado said.

Third baseman Todd Frazier hit his 13th homer for Cincinnati (18-26) and left fielder Marlon Byrd added his 10th.

"I don't feel like we've really created a winning environment," said Reds manager Bryan Price. "We've earned our nine-game losing streak. We're capable of playing better. It makes it hard to fine enjoyment and peace."

Rockies right-hander Eddie Butler, who hadn't pitched past the fourth inning in his previous two starts, allowed four earned runs in six innings.

After throwing 160 pitches in his past two outings, totaling 5 2/3 innings, Butler struggled with his command early in Monday's game, requiring 25 pitches to get through the first inning.

Butler was more effective in the subsequent five frames, totaling 82 pitches through six.

"First three innings, usually are a struggle," Butler said. "Coming in here, you know the ball flies a little bit. We've been working on staying in the zone a little more. When you start attacking the zone, it makes them want to swing early."

Frazier's two-run, 403-foot blast off Butler in the bottom half of the first put Cincinnati ahead 2-1.

LeMahieu's two-out, two-run single helped the Rockies regain the lead in the second.

Meanwhile, the struggles continued for Reds starter Jason Marquis, who gave up four runs (two earned) and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

With two outs in the fourth, Arenado crushed an 0-2 pitch from Marquis into the left-field seats for his ninth home run, putting Colorado ahead 4-2.

"Nine in a row is not fun," Marquis said. "When you're losing, obviously you tend to find the negatives more than the positives. The mistakes jump out at you. I was able to keep the team in the game and give us a chance to win."

Hamilton cut the Reds' deficit to 4-3 with an RBI single in the fourth, and Byrd's solo homer off Butler in the sixth tied the score 4-4.

Right fielder Jay Bruce continued his hot hitting for Cincinnati, going 3-for-5. But, representing the winning run in the ninth, Bruce flew out for the final out against Axford.

The weary Rockies will take the