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One of baseball’s most formidable offenses will square off against the majors’ worst pitching staff when the Chicago Cubs play host to the hapless Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.

Chicago enters the series a winner in seven of its last nine games, including two of three against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend. The Cubs’ powerful offense — which leads the majors in batting average (.264), runs (321) and hits (492) — was on full display in its most recent series, plating 28 runs across the three games.

Chicago trailed 8-3 in the sixth inning against the Reds on Sunday before exploding for eight unanswered runs — including Seiya Suzuki’s tie-breaking three-run home run in the eighth.

“It was just another great job by the offense,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Seiya just stepped up in a big opportunity and helped us win. … We didn’t capitalize on every opportunity and we went down 8-3, but just kept chipping away.”

Suzuki is tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong for the team lead with 14 home runs, while the Cubs slugger leads all of baseball with 49 RBIs (with Crow-Armstrong one behind).

On the mound for Chicago in the series opener will be Jameson Taillon (3-3, 4.13 ERA), making his 11th start of the year. Taillon, 33, allowed just one run in seven innings against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, helping the Cubs earn a 14-1 win.

The veteran right-hander will look to continue career-long success against the Rockies, as he’s posted a 3-1 record and a 2.03 ERA in 31 innings over five starts against the club.

Colorado saw its horrific campaign continue over the weekend, dropping two of three at home to the New York Yankees and falling to 9-44 — the worst record through 53 games in Major League Baseball since 1901. The Rockies are 0-17 in series this year after their 5-4 loss on Sunday.

Despite another loss in a season that has been full of them, Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer believes his team might be turning the corner soon.

“I think we’re getting closer,” Schaeffer said. “The results are not there yet. … We expected to win that game (on Sunday), but it was good to see us push at the end. That’s all I’ve seen from the boys the last 10 games.”

Another struggling pitcher will toe the rubber on Monday for the Rockies in rookie left-hander Carson Palmquist (0-2, 11.88). The 24-year-old is making the third start of his career, following a four-inning MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 16 in which he allowed five runs, and a 4 1/3-inning stint against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, when he surrendered seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits. The Rockies drafted Palmquist in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft after playing his college baseball at the University of Miami.

The Cubs have taken six of eight against Colorado dating back to September 2023.

–Field Level Media