DENVER — The Chicago Cubs dugout seemed stunned watching the scene.
The Colorado Rockies mobbed pinch hitter Sterlin Thompson near first base, celebrating a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday. Cubs players slowly walked off the field while some stayed on the bench, staring out at the field. Even some coaches and support staff hung around briefly.
Perhaps the reality of the Cubs’ situation was sinking in.
The loss dropped the Cubs to .500, a place they hadn’t been in nearly two months, when they were two wins into their first 10-game winning streak April 15. They secured their 10th consecutive series loss Wednesday. The worst team in baseball is on the verge of sweeping them.
Thursday’s starter, Edward Cabrera, was among the last to leave the Cubs dugout, seated near the railing with his eyes fixed on the Rockies’ joy.
Everything feels bleak for a Cubs team operating on the slimmest of margins while a lineup-wide slump makes scoring runs feel impossible far too often. Left-hander Shota Imanaga’s five shutout innings should have been enough for an offense facing a pitcher, Michael Lorenzen, who came in with an 8.01 ERA and a league-high 99 hits and 54 earned runs allowed.
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Instead, Lorenzen held the Cubs to one run on two hits in five innings, with the only run coming on Moisés Ballesteros’ sacrifice fly in the fourth.
“We didn’t produce enough opportunities tonight,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We had (five) hits, just very few at-bats with runners in scoring position, very few rallies, so it’s a night offensively where we just didn’t do enough.”
Imanaga, in his first outing at Coors Field, became the fourth visiting Japanese-born pitcher to throw at least five scoreless innings in a start at the high-altitude ballpark, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto (June 25, 2025), Kenta Maeda (April 23, 2016) and Hideo Nomo (Sept. 17, 1996). Imanaga limited the Rockies to two hits and two walks while striking out seven.
“I kept us in the game, but the last four starts I couldn’t help the team win,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “Moving forward, just using today and thinking about it every time I’m out there and helping the team win.”
The lack of run support put pressure on the bullpen to maintain the one-run lead after Imanaga departed. Phil Maton and Caleb Thielbar combined for two scoreless innings, and Jacob Webb, who has become the Cubs’ most consistent reliever, took over in the eighth.
A one-out single and a two-run homer by TJ Rumfield put the Rockies ahead. Webb hadn’t allowed a run since May 9 and hadn’t surrendered multiple runs in an outing since April 5. It was the first home run he gave up since April 27.
“Every night’s different,” Counsell said, “and Webb, he’s going to have one-run leads of a different nature, so I think he’d tell you he’s got a job to do, but he’s going to give up runs from time to time. He’s been on an excellent run, and we didn’t give our pitching staff enough room tonight and in the end that gets you here.”
Ian Happ gave the Cubs hope they could pull out a late victory when he tied it in the top of the ninth with his 15th home run. The Cubs couldn’t add any more, and the Rockies wasted no time putting pressure on Daniel Palencia in the bottom half. With runners on the corners and nobody out, Thompson sliced a single to right to end it.
While those moments in the eighth and ninth by the bullpen naturally garner focus, the Cubs’ problems come back to the offense. Finding answers to their collective struggles isn’t becoming any easier the longer the issues persist.
“The frustrating part for us, or the confusing part, is that we’re still getting guys on base and not finding a way to get guys in,” Happ said. “You look at baseball at the end of the year, the teams with the most guys left on base are going to be really good offenses. And so we don’t want to leave guys on base, but the fact that we’re getting guys on and giving ourselves opportunities, we’re going to cash out at some point and we’ve got to keep believing that.
“The hardest part is getting out of your own way and just letting things happen, trusting your process.”