The Colorado Rockies walked off the Chicago Cubs Saturday night to clinch a series win at home. The walk-off came after a ninth-inning comeback fueled by a pinch-hit two-run home run from Sam Hilliard off of Chicago closer Porter Hodge. Colorado returned after a scoreless top of the tenth to win the game in the bottom of the inning on a Brenton Doyle single. The Rockies take their second straight tight game over the Chicago Cubs and will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon.
For Chicago, the bullpen collapse couldn’t be coming at a worse time or be as reminiscent of last season when the team tried to surge for a Wild Card berth, only to crater down the stretch due largely to a hampered bullpen. In Saturday night’s contest, starter Jameson Taillon made it into the seventh with the lead, only for Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge to give up three runs in the eighth and ninth innings, setting up Drew Smyly to allow the winning run to scamper home in the tenth. The loss sets the Cubs back to 75-73 and 6 GB in the race for the final NL Wild Card spot.
Déjà vu for Chicago Cubs
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2024 seems to be taking a similar path as 2023 for the Chicago Cubs. As they try to make a push at the final NL Wild Card spot, their bullpen has been leaky and unreliable, and at the worst time after being one of the league’s best units since the start of July up until recently. The Colorado Rockies struggled to get going against starter Jameson Taillon, only managing two runs in six-plus innings off the burly right-hander. The Rockies’ sluggers did their damage in the later innings when Craig Counsell was forced to go to the pen after Taillon got himself into a jam in the seventh.
The Chicago Cubs enjoyed a lead from the first inning until the game’s final at-bat. Seiya Suzuki scorched an RBI double into center field to get the Cubs on the board early. Cody Bellinger extended the lead in the fourth with a solo home run from Colorado Rockies starter Kyle Freeland. When the Rockies began to create some offense, the Cubs would keep them at bay by answering in the next inning.
Rockies Late Game Surge
After Colorado plated their first run in the sixth, the Chicago Cubs answered in the seventh. When the Rockies chased Taillon from the game in the seventh and scratched across a second run, the Cubs scored in the eighth. When Nate Pearson allowed a run to come in on a sacrifice fly in the eighth, Ian Happ answered with an RBI single in the ninth.
With the game at 5-3, Craig Counsell went to Porter Hodge in the ninth to try and get the Cubs even in the series with a win. Hodge got the first two batters out via the strikeout and was millimeters away from punching out Hunter Goodman, looking to end the game, but left a fastball just out of the zone and walked the Colorado backstop. Sam Hilliard came up after Goodman to pinch-hit and made the most of his chance, launching a two-run home run into the right-field bleachers to tie the game. For Hodge, it was his third blown save this season.
The Cubs couldn’t manage to get the ‘Manfred Man’ in from second in the tenth, and when Drew Smyly came in to work the bottom of the frame, the Rockies pounced. Charlie Blackmon pulled a grounder to first and moved the runner to third. After a lengthy battle with Ezequiel Tovar, Chicago caved and walked the Colorado shortstop, hoping to set up a double play. They would get no such thing, and Brenton Doyle laced a breaking ball into the left field out of the grasp of Ian Happ, allowing the winning run to come in and score, giving the Rockies the second game of this three-game set.
The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon at 2 PM CST.
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