Potential RoY candidate Cade Horton (8-4, 2.85) started for the Cubs against the Colorado Rockies, who countered with the venerable Germán Márquez (3-11, 5.76).
The Cubs scored early as Dansby Swanson unloaded his second home run in as many games (20) [VIDEO], scoring Nico Hoerner, who had doubled.
Horton dealt and Ian Happ parked one in the fourth (17) [VIDEO].
Horton gave up a home run himself, in the fourth, to narrow the lead. Then the Cubs piled up six runs, Swanson plating half of them [VIDEO],
sending eleven men to the plate and providing Horton with plenty of support. He continued to decorate the strike zone until Ben Brown stood in to sling the rock in the sixth.
Brown wasn’t great but Antonio Senzatela was generous and the Cubs maintained their big lead on solo home runs by Swanson (21) [VIDEO] and Busch (26) [VIDEO].
The Rockies kept on creeping back as taters exited stage left on the regular. The Cubs had a four-run lead going in to the bottom of the ninth, and Andrew Kittredge preserved that lead for the victory.
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- Brian Kelder (North Side Baseball*): Analyzing the Cubs’ likeliest postseason scenarios. “… who are their likeliest opponents? How will they match up?”
- Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Rookie of the Year candidate Cade Horton meets challenge of pitching at Coors Field. “Horton held the Rockies to two runs in five innings.”
- Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs’ decision to put Jameson Taillon on the injured list was based on the big picture. “… Taillon wants to experience October baseball.“ Patrick Mooney has more {$}.
- Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs’ Michael Soroka taking next step in shoulder rehab: ‘Looking forward to changing some minds’. “Soroka threw a bullpen at Coors Field on Friday.“ Meghan Montemurro has more* {$}.
- Jay Cohen (AP*): MLB hitters swinging at first pitches at highest rate since 1988. “Pete Crow-Armstrong is ready to go. Same goes for Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos. Ceddanne Rafaela, too.“
- Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Cubs, Swanson (2 HRs, 6 RBIs) taste the offensive tonic at Coors Field. “… maybe the current trip to Coors Field arrived at the right time.“ The AP* has more.
- Oliver Vandervoort (Cubbies Crib*): Cubs fans need to stop blaming Michael Busch for this Craig Counsell lineup flaw. “While some might not love his explanations, the Cubs’ manager clearly has a plan…“
- Zoe Grossman (Marquee Sports Network*): Long-term Kyle Tucker Cubs contract still likely, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “I’ve said ‘yes’ in the past, and I will still say ‘yes’ now,” Passan told Brozdowski.
Food for thought:
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