Mistakes by the lake doomed the Rockies on a gloomy Monday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Left fielder Nolan Jones committed two critical errors on one at-bat in the sixth inning, opening the door for three Cubs runs. On a cold, rainy day with the wind howling in from Lake Michigan, that’s all Chicago needed to beat the Rockies 5-0.
The Rockies managed just three hits and opened the season 1-4. They have been outscored 37-14 so far this year. The Cubs won their home opener to improve to 2-2.
Jones, who made a crucial error by dropping a routine flyball in Colorado’s 5-1 loss at Arizona on Sunday, was in the spotlight for the wrong reason again Monday.
Hits were tough to come by early, but the Cubs managed two singles off starter Dakota Hudson to open the sixth. With one out, Christopher Morel slashed a single to left, and the onrushing Jones let the ball go under his glove and it rolled to the wall. Jones compounded the first error with a poor throw back into the infield, allowing all three baserunners to score. Colorado couldn’t overcome the “Little League homer.”
“It was just a routine ground ball,” Jones told MLB.com. “I came up hard and thought I was going to have a play at the plate and peeked up a little bit, and the ball snuck under my glove.”
Jones, who has already made four errors this season after making just two in 104 games last season, acknowledged that he might be pressing.
“I had never played outfield before last year, and I felt that I had a careless attitude and was able to play freely, and I worked really hard this offseason,” Jones said. “I know what’s right. I know what to do, and now I think I’m putting a little more pressure on myself to make the good play, make the big play, throw the guy out at home, and it’s cost us back-to-back games.”
Manager Bud Black and Jones talked after the game, hoping to get Jones back on track.
“Nolan feels horrible because he’s such a caring player and cares about the Rockies and his performance,” Black told MLB.com. “He’s just getting ahead of himself a little bit. He’s trying really hard in that situation today. I’m sure he was charging hard in anticipation of throwing Happ out at home. Didn’t happen. And he’s just putting a lot of pressure on himself because of his present standing on the team, and it’s unwarranted. He’s just got to relax and play baseball.”
Chicago tacked on two more runs in the seventh off reliever Peter Lambert when Cody Bellinger delivered a two-run single to right. Lambert gave up five hits in two innings.
Japan’s Shota Imanaga, making his major league debut, dominated the Rockies for six innings, striking out nine, walking none and giving up only two hits. The Rockies hit the left-hander hard a few times, but with the wind blowing in, well-struck balls, such as Charlie Blackmon’s drive to deep center field in the third inning, turned into easy outs.
The Rockies didn’t get their first hit until Blackmon laced a single to left field with two outs in the sixth. Brendan Rodgers followed with another single, but Imanaga fanned Jones to end the mini-rally.
Hudson, making his Rockies debut, pitched a solid 5 1/3 innings, giving up three hits and no earned runs. The right-hander induced seven groundball outs, struck out two and walked two.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (0-1, 38.57 ERA) at Cubs RHP Javier Assad (5-3, 3.05 in 2023)
5:40 p.m. (MDT) Tuesday, Wrigley Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Freeland is hoping to rebound from the worst start of his career. Making his third opening-day start, the left-hander allowed a career-high 10 runs on 10 hits in just 2 1/3 innings against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field. It was an unexpected meltdown because Freeland had an excellent spring training, going 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA in five Cactus League starts. Freeland said one of the keys in the future is better command of his changeup. The lefty is 1-3 with a 4.91 ERA in five career, regular-season starts against Chicago. Freeland has one regular season start at Wrigley, on April 30, 2018, when he allowed three earned runs through seven innings.
Assad is scheduled to make his fourth career outing (third start) vs. Colorado. He’s 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA against the Rockies. He’s made two appearances vs. the Rockies at Wrigley Field, including Sept. 23 of last season when he pitched four scoreless innings of relief and earned the victory. Chicago has been using Assad as a part-time starter and long reliever and he’s in the rotation now because of injuries.
Pitching probables
- Wednesday: Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (0-1, 9.00 in 2024) at Cubs TBA, 5:40 p.m.
- Thursday: Off day
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