Colorado Rockies' No. 6 prospect Cole Carrigg tripled in MLB debut as home runs helped down Chicago Cubs.
It turned out to be a festive night at Coors Field in Denver, one that No. 6 prospect Cole Carrigg will never forget.
Carrigg, just called up by the Rockies from Triple-A Albuquerque, connected for a triple in his MLB debut as Colorado battered Chicago Cubs starter Chris Rea on their way to a 7-3 win on Tuesday night. With the victory, the Rockies put an end to their four-game losing streak.
Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar homered as the Rockies were backed by five solid innings from starter Tomoyuki Sugano. Sugano went five innings, allowed six hits, three earned runs, walked two, struck out three, and gave up a home run. Sugano is now 6-4 this season.
Colorado’s seven runs scored in the first three innings are the most in the first three innings of a game this season.
Rea went 4.2 innings for Cubs manager Craig Counsell and, well, he wasn't too sharp. He gave up nine hits, seven earned runs, three walks, two strikeouts, and two home runs. Now at 5-4 this season, Rea also owns a 5.19 ERA.
The Rockies are now 25-42 and still in last place in the National League West Division. The Cubs fall to 34-33 and are in fourth place in the National League Central Division.
Rockies Rock Rea
In front of a pretty good crowd at Coors Field, Colorado got a jumpstart on Rea and kept the hammer down, The Rockies scored two runs in the first inning, three runs in the second, and two more in the third. That proved to be plenty as the Rockies' bullpen came out and were stout in the relievers' work.
TJ Rumfield was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the first inning and was on base when Goodman sent a ball flying deep into the Denver night. For Goodman, that was his 18th home run this season. The Rockies led 2-0 at that point.
In the bottom of the second inning, Tovar collected his fifth home run on a blast over the right-center field wall. Colorado extended its lead to 3-0. Kyle Karros got an infield hit, setting the scene for Eduard Julien. He hit his fifth double this season, scoring Karros and upping the Rockies' advantage to 4-0.
Jake McCarthy came up and singled to center, scoring Julien and Colorado was up 5-0.
Chicago's Dansby Swanson, who hasn't been having a good season, doubled to lead off the top of the third inning. Alex Bregman, also going through some struggles, scored Swanson on a sacrifice fly. That cut into the Rockies' lead at 5-1.
Carrigg Gets to Third Base
Goodman walked in the bottom of the third, and Troy Johnston hit his 19th double this season, putting Goodman at third base and Johnston at second. With two outs, Karros walked. Julien singled to center, bringing Goodman and Johnston home and the Rockies went up 7-1.
Carrigg smoked his triple with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning, but he didn't score.
Michael Busch hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, pushing the Cubs a bit closer at 7-2. Bregman singled and Ian Happ walked. A wild pitch from Rockies reliever Seth Halvorsen put Bregman at third base and Happ at second. Seiya Suzuki's groundout brought Bregman home and the Cubs were now down 7-3.
Colorado reliever Jaden Hill came on to get the final three outs. Hill didn't get the save, but his work made sure that the Cubs wouldn't mount a late-inning rally.
The Cubs ended up going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base. As for the Rockies, they were 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base. Both teams had chances to score more runs on Tuesday night, especially Colorado.
Yet it was good enough for a win.
What's Next?
Chicago and Colorado go at it again on Wednesday at Coors Field.
