Colorado Rockies: 3 Things We Liked in Sunday’s Win Over Cubs

There was plenty for the Colorado Rockies to like on Sunday as they grabbed a 2-0 win at Wrigley Field over the Chicago Cubs. The victory gave the Rockies their third series conquest in four tries this season and moved them to 7-5 on the young season.

Here are three things that I think really stood out about Sunday’s win in the Friendly Confines.

Tyler Chatwood — Coming back from his second Tommy John surgery, Chatwood showed the full extent of his potential on Sunday, limiting the powerful Cub offense to just two hits in seven innings. He struck out seven during his 100-pitch masterpiece and lowered his ERA to 2.79 on the season while improving to 2-1.

Chatwood was part of an impressive weekend for Colorado starters at Wrigley Field. Chad Bettis, Christian Bergman and Chatwood combined to allow just nine hits and two earned runs in 18 innings. The only runs surrendered by the starters were by spot starter Bergman on back-to-back solo homers to Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler on Saturday. Other than that, the Cubs offense simply couldn’t click against the Rockies starters.

Also, it should be pointed out that having Tony Wolters behind the plate once again paid dividends on Sunday. Between his outing with Bettis on Friday and Chatwood on Sunday, starters with Wolters as part of the backstop didn’t give up an earned run in 13 combined innings.

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Nolan Arenado — Nolan was simply being Nolan on Sunday, belting a pair of solo homers to account for the entire Rockies offense. Arenado’s two bombs were the first of his career at Wrigley Field and gave Chatwood, setup man Miguel Castro and closer Jake McGee all the offense they would need.

Arenado’s homers were the only extra-base hits of the day for the Rockies and now give him six on the season, just one behind teammate Trevor Story for the team and Major League Baseball lead. In his last five games, the Colorado Rockies All-Star third baseman has four homers and 11 RBI.

Carlos Gonzalez — It may seem strange to highlight CarGo on a day when his 21-game hitting streak was snapped, but he made yet another great play in the outfield in the top of the fifth to rob Rizzo of a single. His sliding catch near the foul wall at Wrigley was by no means easy and helped keep the Cubs offense from collecting its first hit (at least for the time being) and starting any kind of rally against Chatwood.

Soler would walk later in the inning and Javier Baez would follow with a single for Chicago’s first hit of the day. Without CarGo’s sliding catch, the Cubs would’ve scored on Baez’s hit and the complexion of the game would’ve changed.

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CarGo had several nice catches during the series, showing off his athleticism and one of the reasons why he’s considered one of the top outfielders in the National League.

Yes, pitching and defense keyed Sunday’s victory … something that isn’t often said following a Colorado Rockies win. Now on to Cincinnati for a three-game series with the Reds…