The Colorado Rockies were defeated by the Chicago Cubs by a final score of 5-3 on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. With the loss, the Rockies' season-high five-game winning streak is over.
Colorado jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija after three innings, on the strength of home runs from Chris Nelson and Carlos Gonzalez. However, Rockies starter Drew Pomeranz once again displayed an inability to pitch effectively into the fifth inning, allowing solo home runs to Alfonso Soriano and Wellington Castillo. Still, he exited after five innings in position to win the game. Unfortunately, the bullpen, which has been so strong lately, faltered in the eighth inning.
Matt Belisle allowed a game-tying homer to Brett Jackson to lead off the frame, then proceeded to allow back-to-back hits to Luis Valbuena and Joe Mather, which gave the Cubs a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
The Rockies didn't score a run after the third inning, and had just three hits in that span, two of which came off the bat of DJ LeMahieu. Chris Nelson's one-out double in the top of the ninth was the other, but LeMahieu and pinch-hitter Josh Rutledge were unable to come through against Cubs closer Carlos Marmol.
The Rockies fall to 50-74 on the season, while the Cubs improve to 48-76.
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