Rockies vs. Cubs Series Preview: Rockies face another tough matchup with the Cubs

I am not here to lie to you, the Rockies will not be missing the desert, as the Arizona Diamondbacks have absolutely taken it to the Rox in the first series of the season. While the Rockies did collect their first win of the season Saturday, the boys have been battered, fried, consumed, and repurposed into fuel for the defending national league champion, Diamondbacks in this series.

Granted, as I write this, the team is down 5-1 in the eighth inning as they have just given up yet ANOTHER extra base hit to Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who so far has hit a crispy .462 with three homeruns and eight RBIs against his new children, the Colorado Rockies (he may be just the newest stepfather, but he IS for sure the father who has stepped up).

It's been a tough start for the Rox, suffering an absolute bludgeoning at the hands of the Snakes in game one, falling 7-3 in game two, and then gaining some momentum on Saturday in a 9-4 victory before what looks to be another loss on Sunday. Escaping the desert will be a very good thing for this team, however, a visit to the Windy City may not be exactly the cure the team needs.

The Cubs faced a tall task to open the season as well, facing the defending champion, Texas Rangers in Arlington, falling in the first two games before claiming their first victory on Sunday in a 9-5 victory. The weather is said to be miserable in Chicago for their home opener, with all three games looking to be rainy and weather in the 40's with what looks to be some strong wind as well.

On Monday afternoon, a 12:20 MDT, the Rockies will be the first ones to get a look at Shota Imanaga, the lefty from Japan, who will be making his debut, and will counter with Dakota Hudson, making his Rockies debut. On Tuesday, the Rockies will send out Kyle Freeland, who is looking to recover from an abysmal start to the season, and then Cal Quantrill on Wednesday, the Cubs have yet to name starters for Tuesday and Wednesday.

This series should tell us quite a bit in my opinion, the Rockies have already established themselves as a laughingstock early in the season, but taking two of three from the Cubs could put them in a good position for their home debut against Tampa Bay on April 5th. The biggest question is going to be if the starters can settle in and avoid giving up several runs ("wow, you've really got all the answers, don't you, Ryan") as obvious as that sounds, it is the truth.

The offense has started to show some glimpses of what they can do, and against a less than spectacular Cubs rotation, they could garner some serious momentum heading into their home debut. We'll look for Ryan McMahon and Brenton Doyle to continue their hot starts, and we will hope that going to a familiar ballpark will be what Kris Bryant needs to get going for the ballclub he failed to do his research on. Striking out seven of his first ten at bats, Bryant has been an automatic out so far in 2024, but sometimes seeing the place that used to feature a billboard of you can be exactly what a player needs to get back in the swing (and not miss) of things.

Nick Mears, Tyler Kinley, Victor Vodnik, and Jalen Beeks have all started strong out of the bullpen and will hopefully be called on for less work after a taxing opening series in Arizona. Overall, the Rockies will need to get better efforts from their starters in Chicago if they are to have a chance to take two of three. The big deficits early on in the game, are too much for most offenses to overcome, but especially a Rockies offense that is missing contributions from key players, in a cold and windy Chicago.

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