Cubs Hold Off Homer-Happy Rockies, 8-6, Behind Assad

Five home runs flew out of Wrigley on Thursday, and somehow the Rockies still lost. Sterlin Thompson went 3-for-4 with two of them, but Chicago's 8-6 win made it all irrelevant.

Let's start with the elephant — or rather, the five elephants — in the room. Colorado hit four home runs: two from Sterlin Thompson (3-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R), one from Hunter Goodman (1-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI), and one from Kyle Karros (2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI). Chicago answered with two of their own — Dansby Swanson going 1-for-4 with a homer and 2 RBI, and Pete Crow-Armstrong adding his own shot (1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI). Matt Shaw chipped in 2 RBI on a 2-for-4 night without going deep. That is a lot of offense. The story of the night, though, appears to be that Chicago manufactured just enough extra to make Colorado's power display feel hollow.

On the mound, Javier Assad did the job Chicago needed him to do — not brilliantly, but sufficiently. He went 5.2 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs while walking nobody and striking out one. That's a low-drama, high-efficiency outing that looks like exactly what a rotation needs from its starter when the bullpen is already under strain — particularly with closer Daniel Palencia now on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. For Colorado, Zach Agnos lasted just 3.0 innings (1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K), and Jimmy Herget followed with a clean inning of his own (2 H, 0 ER, 2 K). The Rockies' pitching didn't implode — it just couldn't keep pace with a Cubs offense that found ways to score eight runs regardless.

The bigger picture here, if you want to draw one: Colorado's offense is not the problem. Four home runs in a road loss is a genuinely impressive output, and Thompson in particular looks like a player who demands attention right now. But four home runs and six total runs against a Cubs staff missing its closer is a math problem that doesn't work in the Rockies' favor. Chicago's 8-6 win is the kind of game that contenders find ways to take — messy, high-scoring, and ultimately decided by small margins. Whether this Cubs team is actually a contender is a question the next seven weeks before the August 3 trade deadline will answer. For one Thursday night, they were good enough.