CHICAGO — Bleary-eyed from their 16-inning bender Tuesday night, the Rockies desperately needed a pick-me-up Wednesday.
They got their first dose from lefty starter Brett Anderson. They got a second dose from Brandon Barnes in a 6-4, 10-inning victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Barnes delivered the winning run with a one-out, bases-loaded single off Wesley Wright in the 10th, scoring Nolan Arenado. Drew Stubbs added a comfort run, scoring easily from third on Wright’s wild pitch.
The victory snapped the Rockies’ eight-game road losing skid.
Anderson gave his team what seemed to be a secure 4-2 lead after seven innings. Wait, check that. Nothing is safe these days when the ball is handed over to the Rockies’ porous bullpen, or when the Rockies make unforgivable errors.
Right-hander Tommy Kahnle got two quick outs in the eighth. He should have gotten the third, but center fielder Stubbs dropped Starlin Castro’s long flyball to the base of the ivy-covered wall. Then Luis Valbuena stepped to the plate and ripped Kahnle’s 3-2, 85 mph changeup into the right-field bleachers, tying the game 4-4.
Fortunately for Colorado, Rob Scahill shut Chicago down in the ninth, and Adam Ottavino did the same in the 10th to record the first save of his career.
PHOTOS: Colorado Rockies 6, Chicago Cubs 4 – July 30, 2014
“It seems like it’s been Murphy’s Law around here, so it was nice to see us fight for that win,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “Because they haven’t been coming easy and this one wasn’t easy tonight, but it felt good to get the ‘W.’ “
Anderson not only provided volume, thereby taking pressure off the beleaguered bullpen, he also provided quality. Pitching for the first time at Wrigley Field, Anderson gave up 11 hits in his seven innings, but it sure didn’t seem like that many.
He corralled the Cubs, limiting them to just two runs, striking out a season-high nine and walking none. Anderson’s start continued the recent strong showing by Rockies starting pitchers. Since the all-star break, the rotation is carrying a sparkling 2.65 ERA.
Anderson’s outing served as a reminder as to why the Rockies shipped Drew Pomeranz to Oakland to acquire him, and why the Rockies are likely to pick up the $12 million club option on Anderson’s contract for next season. He record remained 1-3, but he lowered his ERA to 3.12.
Anderson entered the game riding a streak of 9 ⅓ scoreless innings. He extended that by blanking the Cubs through the first four innings, thanks in large measure to double plays in the first, second and third innings.
“Going into the game the bullpen was taxed after (Tuesday) and I set out to pitch as efficiently as possible,” Anderson said. “There seemed like there were men on first and second in every inning, but the double plays helped me out early.”
The Rockies’ offense struck quickly, just as it did in Tuesday night’s 6-hour, 27-minute marathon loss. Arenado hit a two-out double in the first and scored on Justin Morneau’s opposite field single to left.
Tuesday night, the Rockies went stone cold after a three-run first inning, getting blanked for the next 15 innings in a 4-3 defeat. They fared better Wednesday night, boosting their lead to 3-0 in the second inning on back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Charlie Culberson and Charlie Blackmon.
Colorado scored again in the sixth when Stubbs singled, stole second and breezed home on Mike McKenry’s second double of the night.
The Rockies, however, continue to strike out at an alarming rate. Cubs starter Travis Wood whiffed a career-high 11 Rockies in his six innings. All told, the Rockies whiffed 15 times after striking out 18 times Tuesday night.
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp
