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DENVER – It looked like the Colorado Rockies were going to drop their first game back at Coors Field against the Chicago Cubs but the offense showed once again just how resilient they are and stormed back with some big moments to take the game late.
Starter German Marquez had one inning to forget but otherwise kept his club in the game.
The Cubs got on the board in a big way by jumping all over Marquez in the top of the third.
David Bote, who almost single handedly beat the Rockies in Chicago with a seven-RBI game, got it going by blasting a mislocated fastball and driving it over the wall in right-center field.
On the very next pitch, also a centercut fastball, Kyle Schwarber unleashed a liner to left that cleared the wall with ease.
Marquez appeared to show some frustration in a walk to Kris Bryant and couldn’t put Anthony Rizzo away in the next at bat. After fouling off some tough pitches, Rizzo went down and got a slider at the knees and launched it over the wall in center to give the Cubs a 4-0 lead.
Somehow, Marquez was able to recover and get the next three outs in order.
The disadvantage may have felt extreme at the time but it didn’t last long.
In fact, the Rockies tied it up in the bottom of that same third inning.
Tony Wolters was plunked to lead things off. Marquez couldn’t advance him, striking out trying to lay down the sac bunt, but Charlie Blackmon rendered that point moot with his 11th home run of the season, just inside the foul pole in right.
Trevor Story was called out on strikes for the second put but David Dahl singled to keep the inning alive, then swiped his second bag of the season.
Representing the tying run and a chance to take back all of the momentum, Nolan Arenado came through in a clutch spot again. He waited back on a low slider and ripped it to left for his 17th home run of the season, tying the game at 4-4.
Marquez didn’t just settle in after his team bailed him out, he locked in with a vengeance. He struck out five of the next six Cubs batters he faced.
Javier Baez broke up a string of nine straight retired by singling to open the sixth. He moved all the way to third on a fielder’s choice when Marquez didn’t get back to cover the bag in the shift. But the Rockies pulled the infield in and Marquez got a pair of ground balls and some excellent defense from Story and Arenado to escape.
With the Rockies offense also quieted, Jairo Diaz came into the game still tied and worked a phenomenally impressive top of the seventh, retiring the side in order, striking out both Bryant and Rizzo looking.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Cubs went to lefty reliever Mike Montgomery who got Wolters to ground to second for the first out.
With the pitcher’s spot up, Bud Black went to Ian Desmond who has raked against lefties throughout his career and this season.
Desi fell behind 0-2 then took a ball before absolutely annihilating a hanging breaking ball, rocketing it 486 feet onto the concourse beyond the left-field bleachers.
The longest home run in all of MLB this season put Colorado on top at 5-4.
But the Cubs came right back. Scott Oberg began the eighth by walking Bryant on five pitches which immediately came back to bite when a Rizzo single to center put runners at the corners.
Oberg induced a weak grounder to short from Baez. Story flipped to second, wisely not trying to force a throw home and attempting the double play but Murphy dropped the relay throw at first and the Rockies got just one as the Cubs re-tied the game.
But Oberg made the miscue an afterthought by striking out the next two.
The Rockies retaliated in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a one-out double from Murphy and a huge two-out single off the bat of Ryan McMahon.
Wade Davis came on for the ninth and made it interesting as he always seems to, giving up a two-out single to Bote then getting locked into a battle with Schwarber, striking him out looking on the seventh pitch for the save and the win.
