Another Rocky Mountain Showdown broke out at Coors Field Saturday night.
In a wild game in front of an announced sellout crowd of 47,493, the Rockies beat the Cubs 6-5 in 10 innings, putting a big hurt on the Cubs’ fading playoff hopes.
Brenton Doyle won the game with a walk-off single to left off Drew Smiley, scoring ghost runner Aaron Schunk. Shunk had advanced to third on Charlie Blackmon’s groundout to first.
Chicago appeared to be in control until Colorado tied the game in the ninth with a titanic, two-out, two-run, pinch-hit homer by Sam Hilliard of a 1-0 fastball by Porter Hodge.
Cubs fans turned out in force at Coors Field. But they went home unhappy with visions of a playoff berth fading away. Chicago remained six games behind the Mets for the final National League wild-card spot.
Chicago kept threatening to put the game away, but Colorado kept counterpunching. Ultimately, the Rockies, who had just one hit over the first five innings, got the clutch hits they needed.
The Rockies trimmed the lead to 3-2 on Michael Toglia’s leadoff homer in the seventh. Toglia’s team-leading 24th homer came on Jameson Taillon’s 1-0 fastball.
Jake Cave followed with a double, ending Taillon’s night, but Tyson Miller snuffed out the Rockies’ rally. Taillon was credited with six innings, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out six and walking one.
The Cubs extended their lead to 4-2 in the eighth on Michael Busch’s sacrifice fly off lefty Luis Peralta, who had relieved Jake Bird. The Cubs nicked Bird with a leadoff single by Cody Bellinger and a soft bloop single into no-man’s land behind third base by Issac Padres, allowing Bellinger to race to third.
Back came the Rockies. Blackmon (3 for 5) led off with a double, advanced to third on Ezequiel Tovar’s deep fly to right, and scored on Doyle’s sacrifice fly to center to make it 4-3.
The Cubs struck back in the ninth, taking advantage when Rockies rookie reliever Jaden Hill plunked Pete Crow-Armstrong to open the inning. Crow-Armstrong stole second base and scored on Ian Happ’s single up the middle.
Rockies starter Kyle Freeland pitched well, but missed on a few key pitches.
The veteran left-hander is a technician and operated with precision for most of his seven innings. But three misplaced pitches hurt him. In the first, Seiay Suzuki ripped an RBI double to left-center on a 0-2 curveball. In the fourth, Bellinger led off with a line drive homer to right, lacing Freeland’s 2-1 sinker just over the right-field wall.
But the pitch Freeland really wanted back came in the seventh after Colorado cut Chicago’s lead to 2-1. Freeland threw a 1-0, 83 mph curve to No. 8 hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong. Freeland hung the pitch, and he knew it. Crow-Armstrong blasted it 438 feet to center to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead.
All in all, it was a strong outing for Freeland, even though he gave up seven hits over his seven innings, walking just one while striking out three. In his 15 starts since coming off the injured list, the lefty has a 3.41 ERA.
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (3-11, 6.51 ERA) at Rockies Cal Quantrill (8-9, 4.63)
1:10 p.m. Sunday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: KHOW, 630 AM
Quantrill will come off the injured list to make his 27th start of the season. He’s been out since Aug. 29 with right triceps inflammation. After an excellent start to his Rockies career, the right-hander has stumbled in the second half, posting a 7.54 ERA in July, followed by a 5.40 ERA in August. He’s faced the Cubs six times (three starts), going 1-2 with an 8.38 ERA. Chicago has tagged him for eight home runs.
Hendricks is coming off a strong performance against the Dodgers, allowing two earned runs over 4 1/3 innings in Chicago’s 10-4 victory. He did not factor in the decision after giving up four hits and four walks while striking out two. The veteran will make his 11th career start against the Rockies and his first since Aug. 23, 2021, at Wrigley Field. His last start at Coors Field came on April 20, 2018, when he earned a win, giving up three runs on five hits over five innings in the Cubs’ 16-5 victory. In his 10 previous starts vs. Colorado, Hendricks was 3-3 with a 4.19 ERA.
Pitching probables
Monday: Diamondbacks TBA at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (0-0, 0.00), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Diamondbacks TBA at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m.
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