The Cubs kept rolling Monday with a 3-1 win over the Rockies at Wrigley Field, and one-third of the way through the season, they’re on track for their best record since their 2016 championship team.
It was hardly one of the artful or overpowering offensive performances that have carried them to this point, but it doesn’t take much to beat the lowly Rockies. While the Cubs improved to 33-21, putting them on pace for 99 wins, the Rockies are still trying to crack double digits at 9-45.
The Cubs jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI groundout by Dansby Swanson.
Ian Happ drew a leadoff walk and went to third on Seiya Suzuki’s double off the right-field wall. Happ scored easily on Dansby’s grounder to third base.
Cubs starting pitcher Jameson Taillon cruised through the first 14 batters, striking out five, before a rough spot in the top of the fifth inning. Mickey Moniak got the Rockies’ first hit by driving one into the right-field seats to tie the game, then Kyle Farmer lined a single into left field before Taillon got out of the inning.
The Cubs answered immediately, again cashing in on a leadoff walk by Rockies starting pitcher Carson Palmquist. This time it was Matt Shaw to open the bottom of the fifth, and after a sacrifice bunt by Reese McGuire, Kyle Tucker singled up the middle to score Shaw.
Taillon had one of his best starts of the season. He allowed one earned run in 6 1/3 innings, struck out seven and walked none to improve to 4-3.
They stretched their lead to 3-1 on a bizarre play in the bottom of the seventh.
With the bases loaded and one out, Tucker hit a flyball to left, and left fielder Jordan Beck caught it, but dropped the ball as he took it out of his glove. The Cubs seemed unaware that the ball came out at all, but the Rockies appeared to believe it wasn’t a catch.
Shaw scored from third regardless, but the Rockies tried to get a force out on Reese McGuire going to third. After a long huddle by the umpires, they ruled it was a clean catch by Beck with the ball coming out only on the exchange from glove to hand.
The teams play the second game of their three-game series Tuesday at 7:05 with the Cubs starting Cade Horton against the Rockies’ German Marquez.
