Hunter Goodman hit two home runs, including a grand slam in the eighth inning that broke a tie, and the Colorado Rockies came from behind to defeat the Chicago Cubs 9-5 on Friday night.
Goodman, a rookie catcher and outfielder who is part of the Rockies’ young team, had three hits and set a career high with seven RBIs. It was the first time a Rockies player had seven RBIs in a game since Elías Díaz did it on September 9, 2022, against Arizona.
“They’re wanting to make a statement, letting us know that they’re major league players, and a night like this from Goodie helps his cause,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He has power. Showed up in the minor leagues and he has 11 (homers) here and 150 or so at-bats.
He’s doing his thing. So, you know, good for Hunter.”
Ezequiel Tovar hit his 23rd home run of the season, and Brendan Rodgers added a run-scoring double for the Rockies, who ended a six-game losing streak against the Cubs. The loss left Chicago six games behind the Mets for the third NL wild card spot.
Michael Busch had three hits for the Cubs, including a three-run home run off Victor Vodnik (4-3) in the top of the eighth inning that tied the game at 5-5. Isaac Paredes also had three hits.
Ryan McMahon singled off reliever Drew Smyly (3-7) to start the bottom of the eighth. Rodgers walked, and Michael Toglia singled to load the bases. Nate Pearson came in to replace Smyly before Goodman hit his second career multi-home run game and first career grand slam.
“There was some frustration after that (top of the eighth) inning because they put some good swings on pitches and we ended up giving up the lead,” Goodman said. “But everybody rallied together. We had a great offensive night, not just from me. We had a lot of big hits from some of the other guys right there in order for me to hit the grand slam. It was just a great night.”
