Rockies’ late rally falls short, as Colorado swept by Cubs to finish opening road trip 1-6

If the Rockies’ opening road trip is any indication, the club’s first 100-loss season last year might’ve just been a harbinger.

Colorado dropped to 1-6 in 2024 with a 9-8 loss to the Cubs on a chilly Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. The Rockies roared back with a five-run eighth to tie the game, but then faltered in the bottom of that inning to get swept in three games.

“That was a tough trip,” manager Bud Black told reporters. “We didn’t pitch great, we didn’t swing the bats great. (That rally) was a good sign though.”

Once again, subpar starting pitching was a factor, as right-hander Cal Quantrill gave up four runs through four innings. The bullpen wasn’t any better, and the Rockies head into their home opener on Friday against the Rays already in a hole.

After setting the Cubs down in order in the first, Quantrill ran into trouble in the second inning as the Rockies went down 4-0.

The frame started innocently enough with Christopher Morel’s infield single, but quickly snowballed. A pair of sacrifice flies plated two runs, then Seiya Suzuki brought home two more with a single to right before Charlie Blackmon got the Rockies out of the inning by gunning Suzuki at second base.

After hard-throwing southpaw Luke Little served as the Cubs’ opener and went one-two-three in the first, Chicago brought on right-hander Ben Brown, who gave up one earned run over four innings.

In the fifth, Suzuki dinged left-hander Jalen Beeks for a solo homer to extend the Cubs’ lead to 5-0.

Jacob Stallings led off the sixth with a double, chasing Brown from the game, and Kris Bryant’s first hit of the season — a single to left — scored Stallings to get Colorado on the board. A Morel throwing throwing error led to another run to make it 5-2.

But Chicago responded in the sixth by plating three runs off Tyler Kinley, as Kinley couldn’t make it out of the inning before being spelled by fellow right-hander Jake Bird. Michael Busch led off with a single off Kinley, then Nico Hoerner and Mike Tauchman both walked to load the bases.

Miguel Amaya’s single then plated three runs, two off the hit and another off a throwing error by center fielder Brenton Doyle. Errors in the outfield have been a consistent theme through the Rockies’ early ugly stretch, a disappointment for a defense that was projected to be the strength of the team.