Cubs hold off late Rockies rally, win 9-8 to secure series sweep – NBC Chicago

Seiya Suzuki scored in his second straight game and drove in four runs and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-8 after blowing a six-run lead Wednesday night.

The Cubs appeared to be on their way to another easy victory with an 8-2 lead in the sixth after outscoring the Rockies by a combined 17-2 in the first two games. Colorado made a strong effort, scoring one run in the seventh and five in the eighth to tie the game.

Pinch hitter Miles Mastrobuoni reached on a wild pitch by Nick Mears (0-1) as he struck out in the bottom half. He took third on an Ian Happ single and beat Suzuki’s fielder’s throw to third baseman Ryan McMahon to put Chicago back on top, 9-8.

Suzuki had three hits. Miguel Amaya drove in three runs and the Cubs won their fourth in a row. The Rockies are 1-6, although they certainly made things interesting in the eighth.

Jake Cave scored a two-point double to left against Héctor Neris (2-0). Two more goals were scored when second baseman Nico Hoerner threw wildly to first baseman on Charlie Blackmon’s single, and Ezequiel Tovar tied it with a double to deep center, just beyond a running Mike Tauchman. he soared.

Adbert Alzolay drove in a leadoff single from Kris Bryant in the ninth for his first save.

Suzuki scored two runs with a single to cap a four-run second against Rockies starter Cal Quantrill and greeted Jalen Beeks with a drive to left center leading into the fifth on a cold, soggy night.

Amaya hit a sacrifice fly in the second and scored two more with a bases-loaded single against Tyler Kinley in the sixth. Center fielder Brenton Doyle’s errant throw on the play allowed another run to score, making the score 8-2.

Chicago’s Luke Little, making his first career start, threw 14 pitches in a perfect first inning after recording the final three outs in Tuesday’s 12-2 game. Little became the first Cubs pitcher to finish one game and start the next since Rick Reuschel in San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 2 and 4, 1976. He is the first to do so for Chicago against the same team since Warren. Hacker on May 1-2, 1955 in Philadelphia, according to team historian Ed Hartig.

Quantrill threw 90 pitches in four innings, allowing four runs and four hits. The right-hander walked four and struck out three in his second start for Colorado following an offseason trade with Cleveland.

TRAINERS ROOM

Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon (back strain) is expected to begin a rehab assignment Sunday with Double-A Tennessee, manager Craig Counsell said. He also said INF Patrick Wisdom (back strain) was fine after participating in Taillon’s live batting practice session in Arizona on Tuesday.

FOLLOWING

Rockies: The Rockies send LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 7.71 ERA) to the mound Friday for their home opener against Tampa Bay. The Rays opt for RHP Zack Littell (1-0, 0.00), who went six scoreless innings in a 5-1 win over Toronto on Saturday.

Cubs: The Cubs have not announced who will start Friday, when they open a three-game series against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers. RHP Bobby Miller (1-0, 0.00) gets the ball for Los Angeles.