Rockies slam past Cubs |
COLORADO - Some places are known as houses of horrors for certain teams, and Coors Field in Colorado is that place for the Chicago Cubs (75-72). Despite the Colorado Rockies (56-92) sporting one of the worst records in the game, the Cubs haven't won a series in Denver in nearly a decade, as this place has always been a struggle for them.
That continued to be the case on Friday, which isn't a good thing when you are trying to lock down a playoff spot. Trailing by three entering the eighth, Michael Busch came through with arguably his biggest hit as a Cub as his three-run blast tied things up 5-5, and the Cubs had all the momentum on their side. You did that, Michael.💥 pic.twitter.com/t2o5UjokMv Momentum is a funny thing, as the Rockies not only responded but responded in a grand way as Hunter Goodman capped off his career-high seven RBI game with an eighth-inning Grand Slam as the Rockies took down the Cubs 9-5. When you look at the pitching matchups on paper, the Cubs should be the favorites in all three games. However, this is Colorado, and that alone is the biggest equalizer as Javier Assad took on Aaron Gomber. Both pitchers did their part to pick up the win, going six innings, but Gomber had the better of the two outings as he allowed just two runs in his six frames. Both runs came in the first inning as the Cubs offense got off to another fast start. With Ian Happ getting things started with a leadoff walk, the Dansby Swanson double set the Cubs offense up as they had runners on second and third and no one out. Two batters later saw Cody Bellinger cash in for the first big hit as his two-run single put the Cubs in front 2-0. It was a lead the Cubs would hold until the second as the Rockies touched up Assad for three of his four earned runs in that frame. All it took to get the offense going was the leadoff Ryan McMahon single before coming in to score on the Brendan Rodgers double. Assad came close to keeping the Rockies at just one run, only to have Goodman connect for the first of his two homers to put the Rockies in front 3-2. Apart from that inning, Assad was very good. He walked three and struck out five across his six innings. The same can be said about Gomber who didn't allow another run beyond the first inning, but it was in the fourth when the Cubs offense was threatening again. Singles from Busch and Nico Hoerner got things rolling only to have a double play kill the rally and helped keep the Cubs off the board. Goodman then went on to add an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to push the Rockies lead to 4-2 and had them searching for answers. As was the case in the top half of the fourth, the Cubs had a chance to pull even in the sixth with Isaac Paredes and Busch getting things started with a pair of singles, only to come away empty again. That can't happen against a team like the Rockies, and with Ezequiel Tovar taking Ethan Roberts deep in the seventh, it was the Rockies in complete control, 5-2. Despite facing a three-run deficit in the eighth, everyone knows that no lead is safe in Coors Field and you started to see why during the Cubs half of the eighth inning. Two batters into the eighth, and it was the Cubs with the tying run coming to bat as Victor Vodnik allowed a pair of singles to Bellinger and Paredes to open the inning. Then came the big blast of the game for the Cubs as Busch delivered one of his biggest hits of the season by taking Vodnik deep to help the Cubs climb all the way back 5-5. Pete Crow-Armstrong worked a walk later in the inning to put the go ahead run on base, but it was a double play that erased the threat as this was a brand new ball game. In desperate need to win every game from here on out, it was up to Drew Smyly to keep things tied as he entered the game to pitch the eighth. Smyly has been one of the Cubs best relievers this season, but you could tell three batters into his outing that he didn't have it as the Rockies had the bases loaded and no outs. After picking up a strikeout for the first out of the inning, Smyly was one pitch away from escaping trouble as a double play ball would do the trick. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't in the cards as Goodman unloaded for a massive grand slam to put the Rockies back in front for good, 9-5. This was a career day for Goodman as he picked up seven RBIs to go with his 11th homer and is now hitting just .191 for the season. Nate Pearson eventually took over for Smyly in the eighth, and although things weren't easy, he was able to get out of the eighth without further damage as the Cubs came to bat for the final time. Needing, at worst, four runs to tie things up, the Cubs would go down quietly as Seth Halvorsen retired the side to close out the 9-5 win. Busch and Paredes have been hot the past few games, and that continued as they led the offense with three hits, with Busch adding three RBIs. Swanson and Bellinger added two hits, and the Cubs had 15 hits in the losing effort. "Nate (Pearson) threw two really good sliders ... He just left the slider in the strike zone on an 0-2 pitch."
Craig Counsell on Rockies' go-ahead grand slam in the 8th inning. pic.twitter.com/KccGaoXkMH
