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Looking to hand the visiting Colorado Rockies their 18th straight series loss to begin the season, the Chicago Cubs also aim on Tuesday night to stretch their winning streak to three.

Chicago took the series opener 3-1 on Monday afternoon thanks to Jameson Taillon’s strong start and Kyle Tucker’s two RBIs. The vaunted Cubs lineup struggled to produce the offense it’s accustomed to on a windy day, but the club is proving it can win in different ways.

“We didn’t have our best day swinging the bats,” said Cubs manager Craig Counsell. “It was tough with the wind, for sure. But we executed offensively, getting runners in from third with less than two outs. … We pitched great and filled up the strike zone on a day that it was really important to do so.”

Tucker accounted for one of Chicago’s four hits on the day. He’s tied with Pete Crow-Armstrong for second on the team with his .280 batting average — behind Nico Hoerner’s club-leading .293 clip.

Cade Horton (2-0, 4.40 ERA) will make the third start of his rookie season for Chicago. The 23-year-old right-hander recorded the longest of his three outings against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, earning a no-decision in the Cubs’ 2-1 win after allowing just one earned run across his 5 1/3 innings. Horton, who made his big-league debut in relief on May 10, was drafted seventh overall by Chicago in the 2022 draft after playing his college ball at Oklahoma.

Colorado lost its ninth game in 10 tries on Monday and fell to 9-45 on the season — the worst start for any team through 54 games since 1901. A major reason for the Rockies’ horrid campaign has been their MLB-worst 5.67 ERA and 191 walks allowed, which are fourth-most in the National League.

The Rockies walked four Chicago batters on Monday, three of whom turned into the Cubs’ runs. For a team in desperate need of a win or three, avoiding so many free passes could go a long way.

“That’s a constant focus for us,” Colorado interim manager Warren Schaeffer said of the walks. “It’s a matter of sticking to the process and getting after that every day.”

Expected Rockies starter German Marquez (1-7, 7.66 ERA) has delivered quality starts in two of his last three outings. He allowed one run in seven innings to beat San Diego on May 11, then repeated those numbers on May 22 in a 2-0 loss to Philadelphia. The veteran has faced the Cubs eight times in his career, posting a 1-3 record and a 6.75 ERA.

The Rockies are the only team in the majors with a run differential of -100 (-173), and the team has dropped 23 of 26 games away from Coors Field. A victory for Colorado on Tuesday would be its first at Wrigley Field since September 2022.

–Field Level Media