Game Recap: Cubs fend off Rockies for another series win

Christopher Hanewinckel - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 4 hours ago

DENVER - On Saturday night in the Rocky Mountains, the Chicago Cubs (78-58) accomplished something that they haven't done in nearly a decade. That accomplishment was winning a series at Coors Field as the Cubs held off the Colorado Rockies (38-98) 4-3 to claim another series win.

With the win, the Cubs also guarantee themselves a winning West Coast road trip, and that alone is an accomplishment in itself when you look at how tough it is to win out West. This was a vastly different game from what the fans witnessed on Friday as both teams battled through a rare pitchers' duel in Denver.

What was expected to be Jameson Taillon's third start since coming off the IL instead wound up being Javier Assad taking the mound as Taillon is back on the IL with a Groin issue. Assad has been improving each time out, and although he was far from perfect, he still gave the Cubs six innings of three-run baseball, which is all you can ask for from a right-hander.

Going up against McCade Brown, who also allowed three innings in four innings of work, this was going to come down to which bullpen could get the job done, and on this night, it was the Cubs' pen taking care of business as they closed things out late for the 4-3 win. It didn't take the Cubs long to strike, and it was another huge opportunity for them to break things open immediately.

What started with a one-out walk from Kyle Tucker was followed by a pair of singles from Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ as the Cubs had the bases loaded with one out. Nico Hoerner did his part by picking up a sacrifice fly to put the Cubs in front 1-0, but that was all they would get as Chicago wasted an early opportunity to put the Rockies in a huge hole.

Wasting opportunities was the theme early in the game for both sides as the Rockies put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the first to come away empty, only to have the Cubs load the bases for the second consecutive inning in the second. Still, this time it was Brown getting the upper hand to keep things close 1-0.

While the Cubs offense came up empty in the second, it was the Rockies bouncing back as Warming Barnabel started things off with a one-out single before racing home on the Yanquiel Fernandez single that made this a 1-1 game. Fernandez was thrown out on the bases during the play to kill what could've been a bigger rally, but the damage was done with the Rockies tying things up 1-1.

Those were the only runs of the game until the middle innings, but it was in the fifth when the Cubs' offense started to show signs of life once again as they began to make Brown pay for his mistakes. Once again, it was the top of the order getting things started with Tucker starting things off with a leadoff double. That was followed by another Suzuki walk with Ian Happ keeping the line moving with another double that put the Cubs in front for good, 2-1.

Happ would come into score later in the inning on a Carson Kelly sacrifice fly as the Cubs extended their lead to 3-1. The same can be said about the sixth inning, with the top of the lineup continuing to set the table, with Michael Busch coming through with a one-out triple to set the Cubs offense up yet again.

Busch would come into score on a Tucker single, which proved to be the game-winning run, while a single from Suzuki and another Happ walk loaded the bases for the third time in six innings. However, as in previous times, the Cubs were unable to get the big hit, as another costly double play ended what could've been a massive inning, leaving the score at 4-1.

It's wasted opportunities like those that can come back to bite you in Colorado, and you started to see that coming in the bottom of the sixth as the Rockies were finally getting to Assad. Three batters into the sixth, and the Rockies were within 4-3 as a Tyler Freeman leadoff single was followed up by the Mickey Moniak triple to push home another run. Moniak would come home on the Hunter Goodman sacrifice fly to pull within a run as the Rockies suddenly had the momentum on their side.

That didn't seem to matter in the end as the two-out Ezequiel Tovar single in the bottom of the sixth was the final baserunner of the game for the Rockies as Andrew Kittredge, Brad Keller, and Daniel Palencia retired all nine batters they faced to secure the 4-3 series win.

For Palencia, this was a much-needed bounce-back effort as he struck out two in a perfect ninth to secure his 21st save of the season.