Another tough Germán Márquez start was made harder by Dansby Swanson, whose three hits and six RBI led the way for the victorious Cubs.
Cubbies claw
For what seems like the millionth time this season, the Rockies found themselves in an early hole. That was thanks to Nico Hoerner, who doubled with one out to set his teammate Dansby Swanson up to bring home the game’s first run. He did more than that, smashing Márquez’s hanging curveball out into left-center field for a two-run blast, his 20th of the season.
Márquez once again saw the opposing team send the ball over the wall. It’s the sixth straight start in which he’s allowed at least one home run.
Swanson wasn’t the only Cub to take a trot around the bases. The top of the fourth saw Ian Happ go yard for the 17th time in 2025, extending Chicago’s lead to 3. Maybe that was to be expected when considering Happ’s gaudy numbers versus Márquez. Regardless, the two shots put Colorado in a tough spot early.
¡Viva Fernández!
Of all the Rockies that have made their debut this season – and there have been plenty – few have made the immediate impact that Yanquiel Fernández has. He continued to pad his solid early stats with another home run on Friday, this one a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth to bring his team back within one.
Amongst the many frustrations endured by Rockies fans this season, Fernández’s rise has been one of the most exciting. Has Colorado found a power bat to anchor its lineup into the future? We can only hope.
It all falls apart
After Fernández aimed to dig the Rockies out of the hole, the Cubs simply buried them deeper.
When the top of the fifth inning began, Márquez looked to keep the score difference at just one run. Instead, things went pear-shaped. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for Pete Crow-Armstrong, who brought home a run on a sacrifice fly. Ian Happ then continued his strong showings against Márquez by doubling home two more, increasing the Cubs advantage to 3. Another walk would finally chase Márquez from the game.
Jaden Hill entered hoping to stop the bleeding, but Swanson welcomed him with a triple, clearing the bases and putting Chicago up 8-2. A final Matt Shaw RBI single brought home the Cubs’ ninth run before the inning mercifully ended.
Colorado’s lineup would need to muster up some magic if they hoped to get back in this one. Germán Márquez’s final pitching line: 4 1/3 innings, during which he allowed eight runs on nine hits, three walks, and no strikeouts. Yeesh.
Keep swingin’
Even if the game seems out of reach, you still gotta take your at-bats. That’s the rule of baseball, after all, and despite the contest’s outcome seemingly written in stone, it was good to see the Rockies put together productive AB’s.
The bottom of the seventh opened with singles from Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman. Brenton Doyle then doubled to bring home Tovar, while Goodman scored on Kyle Karros’ subsequent sacrifice fly to bring the Rockies their fifth run.
The eighth then saw Fernández double (seriously, how good is this guy?) before scoring on Kyle Farmer’s seventh home run of the season – off of #oldfrind Drew Pomeranz, no less!
Unfortunately, even these late gasps of life weren’t enough to overcome such a large deficit. Though Doyle walked and Karros singled to open up the bottom of the ninth inning, Warming Bernabel rolled into a rally-killing double play and Fernández flew out to end the game. The Rockies went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base.
Up Next
McCade Brown (0-1, 9.82 ERA) will make his second career start in game two of the series with the Cubs, who will counter with Javier Assad (0-1, 3.86 ERA).
That game begins at 6:10pm MDT. See you then!
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