Kyle Tucker had two hits and scored twice while Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ each added two hits as the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Saturday night in Denver.
Javier Assad (1-1) pitched six solid innings and Daniel Palencia got the final three outs for his 21st save. The Cubs remain 6 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race.
Ezequiel Tovar had two hits for Colorado, which has dropped the first two games of the series to see their MLB-worst record fall to 38-98.
Chicago loaded the bases in the first inning against starter McCade Brown, but managed to score just one run on Nico Hoerner’s sacrifice fly.
The Rockies answered in the second. First baseman Warming Bernabel singled with one out after fouling a pitch off his left thigh and was able to help generate the tying run.
Yanquiel Fernandez followed with a single to advance Bernabel to third, but Fernandez was caught in a rundown between first and second. Bernabel was able to score during the play to make it 1-1.
Bernabel left the game after three innings.
The Cubs went back in front in the fifth. Tucker led off with a double, Suzuki walked and Happ doubled off the wall in center to drive in both runners to make it 3-1 and chase Brown.
Brown (0-2) allowed three runs on five hits to go with three walks and three strikeouts in his four-plus innings of work.
Chicago added another run in the sixth when Busch tripled with one out and scored on Tucker’s single to right, but Colorado answered in the bottom of the inning.
Tyler Freeman led off with a single and Mickey Moniak tripled high off the wall in center. Hunter Goodman hit a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game, but Assad was able to get out of the inning with the lead.
Assad allowed three runs on seven hits, walked two and struck out just one.
