The Cubs picked up a second consecutive series win on Wednesday night, this time against the Rockies at Wrigley Field. They jumped way in front with a seven-run 2nd inning and managed to hang on for the victory.

Matt Shaw got the big frame going against Colorado starter Sean Sullivan with a two-run triple to right-center. Carson Kelly knocked him in with a double, then Dansby Swanson added a much-needed home run to increase Chicago’s lead to 5-0.

The North Siders kept going with an RBI double by Seiya Suzuki and a sacrifice fly from Alex Bregman to increase the margin to 7-0 before the inning finally ended. Javier Assad did a very nice job yet again, giving up only a pair of home runs to Sterlin Thompson in 5.2 frames of work.

Pete Crow-Armstrong made it three consecutive games with a homer when he hit a solo shot that apparently stayed just fair down the right field line in the bottom of the 4th. It looked to have sailed foul, but may have just caught a piece of the pole and could not be overturned on replay.

The Rockies got back into the game when Hunter Goodman cracked a two-run dinger off of Ethan Roberts to cut the deficit to 8-5 in the top of the 8th. Jacob Webb gave up a solo shot to Kyle Karros in the top of the 9th, but he would close things out from there to save an 8-6 Cubs win. (Box score)

Key Moment

Chicago has needed a big inning like that for a long time, and Swanson especially needed to see a home run go over the fence.

Why the Cubs Won

They scored just enough to protect the bullpen from Colorado’s late comeback.

Stats That Matter

Assad has been very good in every start since returning to the rotation: 5.2 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 K, and 0 BB.
Suzuki got on base three times with two hits and a walk.
Kelly also had two hits.

Bottom Line

The Cubs did what they needed to do and won a series against a bad team. Several important hitters in the lineup are starting to get hot, and that is definitely a good sign. The bullpen is going to be an issue in high-leverage situations without a proven closer at the moment.

On Deck

Chicago is off Thursday before welcoming the Blue Jays to Wrigley starting Friday at 1:20pm CT. Ben Brown takes the mound against Kevin Gausman in a game televised on Marquee with a radio broadcast on The Score.