CHICAGO – Nothing came easy for the Chicago Cubs (35-21) this week, but they still managed to sweep the MLB-worst Colorado Rockies (9-47). This was a strange series, as the Cubs’ offense struggled to get much going and failed to score more than four runs in any of the three games, with all of those games decided by two runs or less.
That included the series finale on Wednesday as the Wrigley Field weather continued to give the offense fits in what was an ugly series, but one the Cubs will take as they are now 12-3 in this massive 21-game stretch. Backed by a strong Matthew Boyd start that saw the left-hander go six innings, the Cubs’ offense did just enough as Pete Crow-Armstrong’s team-leading 15th homer was the difference in the 2-1 win.
Coming off his rough start against the Reds, this was the bounce-back outing that Boyd needed as the left-hander was dialed in from the start. Not only did he allow one run (0 ER) on just four hits through six innings, but he also didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight, as his ERA fell to 3.08.
Facing off against Tanner Gordon, who was equally as good through 4 2/3, it was the Cubs’ offense getting off to a fast start as they grabbed the lead in the first and never gave it up. Anytime you put the lead-off runner on base, things are looking up for this offense, as Ian Happ led off the bottom of the first with a single. Two batters later, it was Seiya Suzuki adding to his MLB-leading RBI total as he ripped an RBI double to put the Cubs in front 1-0.
With Boyd retiring 12 of the first 13 hitters he faced, with Orlando Arcia delivering the lone single in the third, one run was looking like it may be enough, as the Rockies had no answers for the left-hander. Then came the fourth when Crow-Armstrong added to the Cubs’ lead with a lead-off homer to put the Cubs in front 2-0 and proved to be the winning run.
For PCA, that homer was not only a team-best 15, but he is also the only player in the MLB with 15 homers and 15 stolen bases. He also became the quickest player in franchise history to reach that feat as his great season continues.
After mounting next to nothing offensively through four innings, the Rockies finally started to get some good looks off Boyd as a pair of one-out singles from Ryan McMahon and Arcia set the Rockies up, only to have Boyd escape with an inning-ending double play.
Colorado continued to get some good hacks off of Boyd in the sixth, with Mickey Moniak leading things off with a single before advancing to third later in the inning on an errant pick-off play from Boyd. That error came back to bite the Cubs as Tyler Freeman put an end to the shutout bid with a sacrifice fly that had the Rockies within 2-1.
With the Cubs offense continuing to struggle and failing to capitalize on the baserunners they put on, as the margin for error was much smaller than they would have liked, as the Cubs bullpen was going to be in for a tough task to complete this sweep. Ryan Brasier and Brad Keller did their job in the seventh and eighth innings, which set the tone for Daniel Palencia in the ninth.
After blowing his first save opportunity of the season against the Marlins, Palencia has bounced back in a big way and has now saved four straight games since. That included two games against the Rockies, as the Cubs may have found their closer of the future.
Of all his saves this season, this may have been the most dominating performance yet as Palencia overpowered the Rockies with a pair of strikeouts to cap off the Cubs’ second home sweep in two weeks with a 2-1 victory.
As bad as the Rockies have been, this series proved that they may not be as bad as their record shows, as they gave the Cubs plenty of problems. Their bullpen was especially impressive, as the Cubs scored three runs off the Rockies’ pen in this series, after entering the series having outscored their opponents 53-3 from the sixth inning on over a nine-game stretch.
Chicago struggled offensively throughout this series and was held to six hits on Wednesday, with Matt Shaw leading the way with two. Since his return from AAA, Shaw looks like a completely different player, as he has been hitting north of .350 and has pushed his average to .250.
Crow-Armstrong, Suzuki, Happ, and Michael Busch added the remaining hits. Chicago will enjoy a day off on Thursday before welcoming the Cincinnati Reds to Wrigley Field this weekend.