MLB
Wild Finish In The Rocky Mountains
After what was a very disappointing loss yesterday, the Cubs were looking to come back today and make a statement. And they sure did, taking the series finale by a score of 9-7 with a wild finish in the Rocky Mountains the Cubs are once again above the .500 mark at 10-9. They have the off day on Monday and on Tuesday go to Cleveland to face the Indians for the first time since the 2016 World Series. For now, let’s focus on the positives of this game and all the good that came out of it.
Pitching
Jose Quintana took the bump for the Cubs today, he wasn’t bad but he could have been a little better. He allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 1/3 IP, although two of those runs, in my opinion, should have been unearned. Due to the fact that Heyward simply missed the ball, if he would have caught that ball maybe things go differently for Quintana. Maybe he only gives up the two runs he let up in the 5th. Nonetheless, Quintana pitched well enough to get his 2nd win of the season and improves to 2-1 on the season. Quintana also reached a Major League milestone today when he struck out David Dahl for his 1,000th career strikeout.
Quintana did, however, get a lot of help from his Center Fielder Albert Almora Jr, who made three very impressive catches in the game. All run-saving catches that helped the Cubs dramatically in their 9-7 win over the Rockies.
Offense
The offense got started early, in the first inning with two outs and a 1-2 count. Cubs third baseman, Kris Bryant was hit right in the head by a 96 MPH fastball that caused him to leave the game. We would later come to learn he passed concussion protocol and has a small laceration above his right eye. After the hit by pitch on Bryant, the Cubs proceeded to score 3 runs in the first to take an early 3-0 lead. By the 5th inning, the Cubs had extended their lead and lead the Rockies by a score of 6-2.
In any other ballpark, a 6-run lead is almost a guaranteed win on most nights. However, in Coors field, a 6 run lead can evaporate out of nowhere. And that’s exactly what happened in the 5th when the Rockies cut the Cubs lead to only 2 runs. The Cubs did get 3 key insurance runs back in the 7th inning that came in handy. Especially because the Rockies were able to put up a 3 spot in their half of the 7th. Making the score 9-7, and a couple incredible defenses play later the Cubs secured the series in the Rocky Mountains.
Player of the game- Albert Almora Jr.
His three key defensive catches in the outfield allowed the Cubs to hold onto their early and late game leads.
