Coors Field usually is packed with Chicago Cubs fans when the team comes to Denver, but Tuesday night there wasn’t much for them to cheer about against the Colorado Rockies.
Colorado jumped ahead early and cruised to a 7-3 win to snap a four-game skid.
The Rockies will go for their second straight win and a series victory when the teams clash again on Wednesday night.
Colorado will send right-hander Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 8.01 ERA) to the mound against left-hander Shota Imanaga (4-6, 4.74) in the second contest of a three-game set.
Lorenzen, 34, has struggled in his first season with the Rockies, posting the highest ERA in the majors with a minimum of 10 starts. He hasn’t fared well against Chicago in his career, going 2-4 with a 7.36 ERA in 42 appearances (three starts).
Wednesday’s game will feature Cole Carrigg, who made his major league debut in the series opener. The 24-year-old popped up on the first big-league pitch he saw, struck out in his second at-bat, but lined a triple down the right-field line in the fifth inning for his first hit.
Carrigg has hit well all season, which prompted his promotion. In 257 plate appearances at Triple-A Albuquerque, he batted .338 with five triples, six homers, 42 RBIs and 30 stolen bases, numbers that were tough to ignore.
“When you are playing well, it’s kind of hard not to look up here,” Carrigg said Tuesday. “It’s hard to stay where your feet are, but that’s the best thing you can do — keep taking advantage of those opportunities at Triple-A and make sure you’re ready when you get here.”
The Cubs have dropped two games in a row and seven of their past 10.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon went on the 15-day injured list with a strained hamstring and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break next month, adding to the string of injured pitchers.
Imanaga has stayed healthy all season and is scheduled to make his 14th start of 2026 and face Colorado for the second time in his career. He made his major league debut against the Rockies on April 1, 2024, allowing only two hits and striking out nine over six scoreless innings to earn his first victory.
He will need to have a similar outing if Chicago’s offense continues to struggle. The Cubs have scored three or fewer runs while losing six of their last eight games and hope getting utility man Matt Shaw back from injury will help, especially in late-game situations.
Shaw missed three weeks with back tightness but was activated from the IL before Tuesday night’s game. He didn’t play but is ready to step in when needed.
“Obviously ready to help in any way you can, you know,” he said earlier Tuesday. “Whatever that kind of looks like, whenever that kind of manifests into whether, again, it could be some of those late-inning pinch running situations, and I look forward to those.”
–Field Level Media
