Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) – Justin Morneau accepted his award for winning
the 2014 National League batting title prior to Colorado’s home opener, then
belted a solo home run to help the Rockies to an 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs
on Friday in front of a record crowd at Coors Field.
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado and second baseman DJ LeMahieu were also
honored for earning Gold Glove awards in 2014. LeMahieu showed he can also do
some damage with the bat, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Tyler Matzek struck out four in four innings of one-run ball and Troy
Tulowitzki drove in a pair of runs for the Rockies, who improved to 4-0 on the
young season.
Cubs starter Travis Wood (0-1) was tagged for three runs on seven hits over 4
2/3 innings.
Wood fanned the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the second before
Matzek extended the inning with a double that Matt Szczur misplayed in left
field. LeMahieu followed with a single to center, plating Matzek without
a throw.
The Cubs got the run back a half-inning later, but failed to exploit an
opportunity to break the game open. With the bases loaded and no outs, Mike
Olt grounded back to Matzek, who threw home for the first out. Szczur tied it
with a sacrifice fly to deep left, but Welington Castillo flied out to end the
threat.
Corey Dickerson walked following a one-out single by LeMahieu in the fifth
inning. Tulowitzki then delivered a two-run double to deep left, restoring
Colorado’s lead.
Morneau added to it with his blast to left-center in the sixth inning. The
home run was Morneau’s 1,500th career hit.
Later in the sixth, Dickerson ripped a single to center to score Charlie
Blackmon.
Christian Bergman (1-0) picked up the win and Brooks Brown tossed two
scoreless innings to highlight a Colorado bullpen that only gave up one hit
over five innings.
Game Notes
The Rockies are 4-0 for just the second time in franchise history. They also
opened 4-0 in 1995 … The announced crowd of 50,967 was the largest in
Coors Field history … Chicago went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
