Chicago Cubs bounce back, beat Rockies 8-1 in game two of doubleheader

The Cubs gave the Rockies a taste of their own medicine in game two, putting together strong offense and pitching to achieve an 8-1 victory over the Rockies.

The Cubs' offense struck first, driving in five runs in the second inning off Kyle Freeland. Jeimer Candelario kicked off the inning with line-drive single, and Addison Russell reached base afterwards on a throwing error from Trevor Story. This set the tone for the inning, as the Cubs notched three more hits and two additional walks to contribute to the big inning.

Despite the rough inning, Freeland still managed to collect a six-inning start, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits while striking out six and walking four.

John Lackey held the Rockies offense to four hits, all singles, across seven innings. He walked just two while striking out ten.

Jordan Lyles threw a clean inning of work, and Mike Dunn got roughed up by a two-run shot from Javier Baez to give the Cubs a 7-0 lead.

Jeff Hoffman came on in relief of Dunn with two outs in the eighth, making his 2017 debut for the Rockies. He pitched 1 ¹⁄₃ innings and allowed one run on a solo shot from Kris Bryant. He struck out three of the five batters he faced.

The Rockies finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth, when Nolan Arenado ripped a deep fly ball to left field. The ball was originally caught by Jon Jay, but he was unable to hold on after he bumped into the wall. Mark Reynolds followed with his third walk of the night, and Ian Desmond drove in Arenado with a grounder up the right-field line.

Brian Duensing closed things out in the ninth to secure the 8-1 victory for Chicago.

The two teams will face off again tomorrow at 1:10 PM MST.