DENVER -- The Atlanta Braves scored early and often and they needed nearly every one of those runs to beat the Colorado Rockies. Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping . Andrelton Simmons hit his first career grand slam as part of a seven-run first inning, and the Braves held on to beat Colorado 13-10 on Tuesday night. Evan Gattis had a home run among his three hits and Freddie Freeman also homered for the Braves, who had season-highs of 16 hits and 13 runs but had to sweat out a win in the late innings. "Nothing surprises me in this ballpark," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Ive been in this office in the same situation with a loss hanging over your head." The teams combined for 29 hits and neither starter made it out of the fifth inning. Rockies right-hander Juan Nicasio lasted just 3 2-3 innings and Atlantas Mike Minor left after giving up two hits to start the fifth. David Hale (2-0) pitched 2 1-3 innings of relief for the win. "I wasnt making quality pitches early on and later on I felt like I was making better pitches and couldnt get out of a jam," Minor said. "They were scoring all night." The Rockies trailed 13-9 when reliever Jordan Walden walked the bases loaded with no outs in the eighth. One out later Shae Simmons came on and allowed a sacrifice fly by Justin Morneau but then struck out Josh Rutledge to end the threat. Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 18th save in 21 chances. "Kimbrel was great," Gonzalez said. "We score seven in the first inning and we needed a shutdown inning." Nicasio had a scary moment when he deflected a line drive by Justin Upton with his glove in the bottom of the first. Nicasio fractured his neck and sustained a concussion when he was hit in the head by a line drive on Aug. 5, 2011. He missed the rest of his rookie season. "That was scary. You definitely look at his past history and know what happened," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "Its something you dont want to see. But Juan is a tough kid. I think hes really over that." The Braves also had a scare when Upton gingerly ran the bases in the first. Gonzalez removed him from the game before Atlanta took the field in the bottom of the inning. Gonzalez and Upton said it wasnt serious and he could play in the next couple of days. "I dont know how its going to feel tomorrow but Im optimistic its not anything too serious," Upton said. Wilin Rosario homered and Rutledge had three hits for Colorado, which has lost 10 of 11 and 15 of 18 to fall six games below .500. The Braves jumped on Nicasio right away. Jayson Heyward doubled then B.J. Upton tripled and scored on a groundout. Four straight singles made it 3-0 and loaded the bases for Simmons, who went deep to centre to make it 7-0. "Its a lot of fun, especially being an offensive player and being able to bat around and score a lot of runs," said Chris Johnson, who had his second straight three-hit game. "Everybodys in a good mood because everyone hit and did well." Atlanta sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning, and Colorado nearly matched it in the bottom of the frame. The Rockies scored three times on Rosarios single, Morneaus sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk to DJ LeMahieu Minor walked three batters and hit another and needed 38 pitches to get out of the first with a 7-3 lead. "Me and Gattis, before we walked out we said were going to act like its a 0-0 game," Minor said. "I couldnt throw a curveball for a strike. They eliminated every offspeed pitch and fastballs, I was barely missing the plate." He gave his team an 8-3 lead with an RBI single in the third but then allowed two more runs in the bottom of the inning, including a run-scoring single to Nicasio. It wasnt enough for the right-hander, who left in the fourth after solo homers by Freeman and Gattis, who scored a career-high four runs. Nicasio (5-5) allowed a career-high 10 runs and 11 hits. He has given up at least five runs and nine hits in his last three starts. His ERA has risen from 3.60 to 5.70 in the three outings, all losses. "I didnt worry about that line drive to me. I didnt do my job today," Nicasio said. "I feel bad for my team. They scored 10 runs I need to win this game." Atlanta scored three times off reliever Chad Bettis in the sixth to make it 13-8. NOTES: Gattis extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the first inning. ... Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez had a small tumour removed from his left index finger. The procedure was performed in Cleveland. ... The Braves activated Walden from the 15-day DL and optioned LHP Alex Wood to Triple-A Gwinnett. ... Atlanta RHP Julio Teheran (6-3, 1.89) will face LHP Tyler Matzek, who will make his major league debut for the Rockies on Wednesday night. Air Max 90 Clearance Sale . There are practical ideas, like this Chewbaca inspired Star Wars jerseys. Star Wars themed jerseys for the Toledo Mud Hens. Cheap Air Max 90 For Sale . Various media outlets, including the Detroit Free Press, indicate a deal is close, while USA Today cited an unidentified person directly involved with the negotiations as saying the pact is for two years. http://www.airmax90clearance.com/ . Vettel only needs to finish fifth or better Sunday to wrap up the championship with three races remaining, and bettered his own lap record to claim his third straight pole at Buddh International Circuit.JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Richard Sherman, Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch deservedly draw the attention for what theyve done in getting the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Players like Jermaine Kearse, Walter Thurmond and Malcolm Smith are just as big a reason why Seattle is facing Denver in Sundays championship game. Seattle may have one of the better starting lineups in the NFL, but the depth that general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll have amassed is equally impressive. Its the reason they can rotate eight different defensive linemen. Its why when Brandon Browner was injured and Thurmond suspended, Byron Maxwell could step in and the play in Seattles secondary not suffer. Its a regular refrain in the Seattle locker room to hear teammates say the Seahawks reserves could be starters on other teams. And there is some proof: in the past year 23 players once with Seattle have spent time on the 53-man roster of other teams. "Its crazy because were always saying our backups could be starters. We always say that," strong safety Kam Chancellor said. "Those guys, people dont see this, but in practice those guys play just as good as us. Theyre making plays, getting the ball. Those guys contribute on special teams. Our special teams are probably one of the best. "Those guys put in work on special teams and it just goes unseen." When Carroll and Schneider took over, there was a revolving door of roster moves --839 in total since before the start of the 2010 season -- that followed in an effort to make a roster that was competitive beyond just the starters on each side of the ball. They wanted a depth chart that was the envy of the NFL. They wanted their reserves coveted by other teams. They wanted guys they were going to be released grabbed off the waiver wire the second they were made available. Seattle got its wish. Of the players released in the past year, five ended up in Jacksonville and four landed in Kansas City. "John and I have joined together aggressively to compete at every single turn, at every opportunity whatever it may be, to see if theres something in there for us," Carroll said. "Hes done a great job of having the competitive will to keep pushing and fighting and clawing and scratching to have the opportunity that has sent us down thhe road early on with the hundreds of guys that came through the program. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale. " Kearse, Thurmond and Smith are just three examples of players not counted on as full-time starters that have proven invaluable. Seattles seen contributions from Michael Bowie, Clinton McDonald, Jeremy Lane and Heath Farwell just to name a few more. Kearse was an undrafted free agent that signed with Seattle in 2012 and became a needed option as a third and fourth receiver this season with Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice suffering through injuries. Kearse finished with 22 receptions and four touchdowns in the regular season, but his biggest catch came in the NFC championship game when his 35-yard TD grab in the fourth quarter gave Seattle a 20-17 lead. Thurmond missed four games late in the season when he was suspended for violating the leagues substance-abuse policy. But hes started three games at cornerback this season and is Seattles best option as the fifth defensive back covering slot receivers -- a big emphasis this week with the amount of times the Broncos throw. Smith has shown the same kind of versatility at linebacker. Hes played both outside spot this season, first when Bruce Irvin was suspended and later when injuries to K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner forced shuffling. "Through all the stuff we have gone through there has always been a guy who stepped up and made plays," Wagner said. "Last year it was Walter, this year it was Walter and Maxwell and guys like Malcolm, everybody. We have a bunch of players that if someone went down can step in and do a great job." One of the ways Seattle was able to create such a dynamic roster came from the three-way quarterback competition that Carroll had last season and which Wilson eventually won. It sent the message to the entire roster and to any free agents -- big-name or small-time -- that Seattle was a place they could come and have a chance. "You could tell looking at our board of players that we had fast, confident, intelligent individuals," Schneider said last week. "Guys who knew they were going to come in and compete for positions because the previous year we had a three person quarterback competition. "You know you have a shot when you have a three person quarterback competition as a player." ' ' '