CHICAGO (AP) — Jameson Taillon pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning, Kyle Tucker drove in two runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1 on Monday.
NL Central-leading Chicago improved to 8-2 in its last 10 games. Colorado lost for the eighth time in nine games, dropping to a major league-worst 9-45.
Taillon (4-3) retired his first 14 batters before Mickey Moniak connected in the fifth, driving a changeup deep to right-center for his fifth homer. Moniak also hit a solo drive during Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the New York Yankees.
Taillon departed after he struck out Brenton Doyle looking for the first out of the seventh. The big right-hander struck out seven and walked none.
Daniel Palencia, the fourth Cubs reliever, pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
Colorado’s Carson Palmquist (0-3) permitted two runs and three hits in five innings in his third major league start.
The Cubs jumped ahead when Ian Happ scored on Dansby Swanson’s groundout in the first inning.
After Moniak’s homer tied it in the fifth, Tucker singled in Matt Shaw in the bottom half of the inning. Tucker added a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Key moment
The Rockies threatened in the sixth, putting runners on second and third with one out. But Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner threw out Jacob Stallings when he tried to score on Ryan McMahon’s grounder. Michael Toglia then struck out looking.
Key stat
Swanson went 0 for 4, stopping his on-base streak at a career-high 24 games.
Up next
Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez (1-7, 7.66 ERA) faces rookie right-hander Cade Horton (2-0, 4.40 ERA) on Tuesday night.