DENVER — Coors Field is capable of helping any ailing offense and, conversely, being a nightmarish environment for pitchers.
For a Chicago Cubs lineup that has struggled lately to consistently score runs, let alone put up a crooked number, Friday’s opener against the Colorado Rockies provided the ideal bounce-back environment coming off the sweep in San Francisco.
Dansby Swanson’s career night helped the Cubs take control in the 11-7 win in which rookie Cade Horton deftly handed his first experience pitching at Coors Field. Horton held Colorado to two runs in five innings.
Swanson and Ian Happ combined for five extra-base hits and eight RBIs. Swanson’s two home runs, triple and six RBIs put him in rare company in the franchise’s history. Only two other Cubs hitters in the modern era produced those numbers in a game: Andre Dawson in his 1987 MVP season and Hall of Famer Billy Williams in 1971. His 11 total bases marked a career high.
“It could be almost unsaid, just that everyone knows that with the altitude and the way the ballpark plays, that you need to be ready to hit just because it is hard on pitchers and it’s easier on hitters,” Swanson said. “That’s just the way it is. It’s historically proven. But I just thought guys were really locked in for their at-bats all night because even when you get leads here, they can evaporate quick.”
The final three innings Friday served as a reminder that no lead feels big enough at Coors Field. The Rockies chipped away at the Cubs’ eight-run lead by plating a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth innings that forced closer Daniel Palencia to start warming in the ninth when the first two batters reached against Andrew Kittredge.
After falling behind 2-0 to Warming Bernabel, Kittredge induced a ground ball double play and got Yanquiel Fernández to fly out to end the game.
“This is how games at Coors Field work: you’ve just got to get 27 outs,” manager Craig Counsell said. “You’ve got to put the puzzle together and get it. And it’s not easy. No matter what’s going on, no matter what the score is, it’s hard to get 27 outs, but we did a nice job getting it and came out with a win.”
The victory snapped the Cubs’ three-game losing streak to remain the only team in Major League Baseball to not have a losing streak of at least four games this season. Eight Cubs starters recorded at least one hit with six delivering a multi-hit night.
Horton has a 0.86 ERA (4 earned runs in 42 innings) in his eight starts since the All-Star break. He is the first Cubs starter to post a 0.86 ERA or lower in an 8-start span in a single season since Jon Lester in 2016 (0.64 ERA).
Horton showed his composure by not getting rattled when runners reached base, six on hits and two via a walk, knowing how quickly games can get away from pitchers in this atmosphere. Counsell commended Horton for buckling down to make big pitches when the Rockies had runners in scoring position.
“I just really wanted to stick with the same approach and control what I can,” Horton said. “It’s a big outfield. Ball flies. Fastball doesn’t ride as much, breaking stuff doesn’t break as much. So just really attack and really make them earn it.
“I knew we were going to put up runs and just limit damage and keep the game in control.”
Swanson became the fifth Cub with 20 or more home runs this season, one of two big-league teams with at least five players to reach that mark this year, joining the New York Yankees.
The Cubs’ four home runs in Friday’s win marked only the third time they hit four or more homers in a game over the last two months, more recently slugging five in a July 19 win over Boston. Prior to July, the Cubs had recorded 11 such games.
“Sometimes it feels like we’re only scoring by the home run,” Happ said. “I think earlier in the year, we did such a good job of scoring in so many different ways. We were great with runners in scoring position in general, great at just having so many guys on the bases and creating that so, yeah, the homers tonight were great.
“But I think that quality of contact all day is pretty impressive.”
The best home-run hitting team through the first three-plus months of the season has struggled to put the ball over the outfield wall lately. And without the long ball, the once high-scoring Cubs have been in too many close games. Since the start of July, the Cubs’ 11.0% home run-to-fly ball ratio put them 23rd in the majors, tied with the Giants, while their 57 total home runs in that span tied them with three other teams for 19th in MLB.
The lack of home run production the last two months has been a stark contrast to what the offense delivered in their first 85 games when the Cubs hit the fourth-most homers and ranked fifth in home run-to-fly ball ratio (13.3%).
“It’s about going out and doing your job, and actually getting the right pitches to hit, putting good swings on them,” Counsell said.