CHICAGO -- Carlos Gonzalez provided the Colorado Rockies with a much needed offensive boost. He homered twice and finished with a career-high five hits to lead the struggling Rockies to a 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night. Gonzalez was 5 for 5 and fell a triple shy of a cycle, and Eric Young Jr. also homered for the Rockies, who had lost five of their last six. Colorado had scored 12 runs in those games, including eight Sunday at St. Louis. Colorado increased its lead to 5-0 in the third when Gonzalez hit his eighth of the season deep into the right-field bleachers. His home run in the ninth put the Rockies up 8-3 and gave him nine multi-home run games in his career. He also continued to torment the Cubs, raising his lifetime average against Chicago to .427, while getting to seven home runs and 16 RBIs in 19 games. Gonzalez became the first Rockies player to have five hits since Miguel Olivo on May 12, 2010, and his outburst was well-timed for a struggling Colorado team. "It was a bad stretch, not being able to score runs or be able to help the team," Gonzalez said. "I think the pitchers did a tremendous job every single game but its frustrating when youre not able to put runs on the board." That wasnt an issue for the Rockies, whose 17 hits matched a season-high allowed by the Cubs. Troy Tulowitzki had three while Eric Young Jr., Todd Helton, Nolan Arenado had two apiece for the Rockies. Along with Young, who hit his first home run of the season, Gonzalez paced the Rockies, who were in danger of falling to one game above .500 for the first time since April 10. "(Gonzalez) is one of those players thats always a day away from doing something like that, or doing something you rarely see in this game," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Hes got that kind of ability. It was nice to see not only him, but our offence bust out tonight." Pitcher Jeff Francis also returned to form for the Rockies. Francis (2-3), winless since April 5, pitched six innings and gave up one run and three hits while striking out seven. After winning his first start, Francis was 0-3 with an 8.25 ERA over his next six outings. Francis slid awkwardly into second base in the sixth, tweaking his right knee and was taken out after pitching the inning, throwing just 80 pitches. The early exit, however, did little to diminish his night. "It was one of those nights where you kind of feel you had it going a little bit," Francis said. "Unfortunately that happened but weve got guys down there who are capable of doing what they did." Cubs starter Carlos Villanueva, meanwhile, did not have it going. Villanueva (1-3) allowed six runs and 12 hits in five innings for the Cubs. He is winless since April 18 and has allowed 18 earned runs in his last four starts after giving up five in his first four. With Matt Garzas return from the disabled list looming, Villanuevas time in the starting rotation could be short. "We will be a stronger team when (Garza) comes back. Obviously I have my own opinions, obviously a move will be made. Tonight didnt help my cause," Villanueva said. "For me I will take the ball whenever they need me." Cubs manager Dale Sveum wasnt really talking about any potential changes to the rotation. He said Tuesday wasnt a "tryout" for Villanueva. Perhaps that was a good thing for the Cubs starter. "Tonight he didnt have any one of his pitches," Sveum said. That was apparent early, with the Rockies scoring five times in the first three innings. Young hit his home run in the second, Gonzalez got his first homer in the third, and the Rockies built their lead. "We have a lineup that can explode at any time. Weve got a lot of offensive talent and weve had to grind through this tough time the last week or so," Weiss said. "I always feel like were capable of busting out with the group we have." NOTES: Roy Oswalt threw 64 pitches in an extended spring training start for the Rockies. He is scheduled to pitch again Saturday, and if that start goes well he is expected to join Double-A Tulsa. ... Garza, who hasnt pitched in the majors this season after straining a lat during spring training, is expected to make a rehab start Thursday for Triple-A Iowa. Following that outing, he and the team will decide if hell come back. Sveum didnt rule out going to a six-man rotation when Garza does come back. ... Rockies manager Walt Weiss said there hasnt been a decision made on whether Juan Nicasio will take his next start in the rotation. ... Cubs 3B Luis Valbuena was out of the lineup for the third straight day after suffering a jammed right pinky finger Saturday in Washington. Sveum said Valbuena will be in the lineup Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series. ... Wednesdays pitching matchup is Colorados Jon Garland (3-3, 4.83) against the Cubs Jeff Samardzija (1-5, 3.70). Stitched Clippers Jerseys . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. World B. Free Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. https://www.cheapclippersonline.com/610h-gar-heard-jersey-clippers.html . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Dominique Wilkins Jersey .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Johnathan Motley Jersey . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line.Sebastian Vettel gave under-pressure Ferrari an early Spanish GP boost by leading a one-two for the team in opening practice, as Max Verstappen made a promising debut for Red Bull. However, the devil was in the detail where the P1 order was concerned, as although Ferrari outpaced the Mercedes cars, they used the quicker soft tyres whereas the world champions did not.Underlining the unrelenting rate of development in F1 on a weekend when most teams are introducing upgrades, Vettels quickest time of 1:23.951 on a green track was already seven tenths of a second quicker than last years Barcelona pole lap. He outpaced team-mate Kimi Raikkonen by 0.138 seconds. Championship leader Nico Rosberg was half a second back in third place, but Mercedes ran exclusively on the slower medium compound, just as they did in winter testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. The softs which Ferrari used are worth 0.5-0.8s in lap time.Whats new on the cars?Lewis Hamilton, who trails team-mate Rosberg by 43 points heading into the first European round of the season, was fourth, a tenth adrift of the German as the team trialled a new pointy nose on the W07.Meanwhile, with the Red Bull driver swap story having dominated build-up to the race weekend, Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat got down to on-track business at their respective new teams. On his first ever outing in the RB12, Verstappen finished sixth quickest with his best time just a tenth slower than Red Bull regular and new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.Im impressed by what hes done there in that session. I think hell be pretty pleased with that, said Sky Sports F1s Anthony Davidson.Verstappens session had got off to a slightly shaky start, as he ran off the track at Turn One at the end of his opening flying lap and damaged his first set of tyres. On his next run, the 18-year-old then reported he was having problems accelerating, which promoted a swift return to the pit lane so the Red Bull mechanics could investigate.Having been removed from the main Red Bull line-up, Kvyats first session back in a Toro Rosso car for 18 months saw him finish 12th, four places and half a second back on his new stable-mate Carlos Sainz. Both Red Bulls finished ahead of the Williamses, who were seventh and ninth with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa respectively, with Fernando Alonso 10th for McLaren.ddddddddddddThe Woking team, fresh from a double points finish of 2016 in Russia, have made a number of changes to their MP4-31 chassis for this weekend - with the arrival of a new front wing catching the eye. Every race live in 2016 Sky Sports F1 brings you every race live in 2016. Fast and easy online upgrade - click here It has grown an extra set of cascade wings, like an extra set of fingers sprouting out, said an impressed Ted Kravitz. It is brilliant, this is the most intricate front wing I have ever seen.The other new bits for McLaren are new brake ducts, a new floor, new diffuser and a new rear wing as well.Young Frenchman Esteban Ocon made his practice debut for Renault, but the 19-year-olds session proved a near write-off thanks to technical problems. He finished bottom of the order without a time.Britains Jolyon Palmer, who is thought to be coming under pressure for his seat from Ocon, returns for Practice Two, which begins at 1pm BST live on Sky Sports F1.Practice One timesheet1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:23.9512. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:24.0893. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:24.4544. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:24.6115. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:25.4166. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:25.5857. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:25.6728. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:26.0789. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:26.18610. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:26.24311. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:26.57612. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:26.58313. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:26.93814. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:27.06415. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:27.25316. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:27.25817. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:27.28318. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:27.39219. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:27.61020. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:28.08421. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:29.05222. Esteban Ocon, Renault, No timeWatch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV. Also See: Barcelona car upgrades: Whats new? When is the Spanish GP on Sky? ' ' '