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Cubs hand Rockies first loss

Apr 12, 2015 - 5:42 AM Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Dexter Fowler hit a pair of triples and finished with two RBI and a pair of runs scored to help the Chicago Cubs defeat the Colorado Rockies, 9-5, on Saturday night at Coors Field.

Starlin Castro went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI and Jorge Soler supplied two RBI for Chicago, which bounced back from Friday's loss in the series opener.

Chris Coghlan and Mike Olt also homered in the win.

Jason Hammel (1-0), who went 27-29 with a 4.73 ERA in 87 starts for Colorado from 2009-11, pitched six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits for the Cubs.

"I don't want to give up that many hits or baserunners, especially at this place," said Hammel. "A couple of runners can turn into a six-run inning in a flash. I made some good pitches, we got some double plays that were huge and it's nice to pitch with nine runs."

Kyle Kendrick (1-1) could not build off of his season-opening win as he surrendered a career-high eight runs on eight hits over five-plus innings.

"He managed the game pretty decent," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said of Kendrick. "I still thought he put us in a good position."

Nolan Arenado homered and knocked in two runs for the Rockies, who failed to go 5-0 for the first time in team history.

Fowler hit his first triple of the night on the first pitch of the game, then Soler brought him home with a sacrifice fly.

Hammel singled with one out in the second and Arismendy Alcantara walked before Fowler ripped another triple for a 3-0 lead.

Arenado got those two runs back, however, by homering to left-center. Coghlan and Olt then went back-to-back in the third as Chicago pushed its lead to 5-2.

Justin Morneau had an RBI single in the third, but Castro went deep to lead off the fifth, and Soler, Castro and Anthony Rizzo each added an RBI in the sixth to make it 9-3.

Corey Dickerson knocked a two-run single in the eighth to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

Hammel had gone 13-14 with a 5.05 ERA in 45 starts at Coors Field entering the game ... Kendrick fell to 1-3 in six career starts against Chicago ... Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit his sixth double on the young season ... Each team had 12 hits ... Chicago went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.