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 The 26-year-old right-hander allowed three hits in six shutout
innings and successfully nursed a one-run lead into the sixth as the
Rockies claimed a 6-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Friday's
opener of a three-game weekend series.
"Bettis was outstanding," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "He's
really throwing the ball well. I love the way he competes. I love
the tempo he works at and he executed pitches. He's got really good
stuff to go along with the makeup that he has."
The Rockies (6-4) won their third straight while the Cubs (8-2) saw
a five-game winning streak snapped.
Bettis (2-0) walked three and struck out four in his first career
Wrigley Field start and third outing of the season.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (1-1) also worked six innings while
allowing two earned runs on seven hits and striking out five.
Friday was the Cubs' first 2016 day game and they struggled in the
daylight with just four hits and an uncharacteristic four errors,
the most since Jun 11, 2013 against the Reds.
 "Their pitcher was good, he did not permit us to really get into our
game," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Conversely, I thought we
pitched really well today. ... And I thought Kyle threw the ball
extremely well today.
"Look at the score overall and you'd think some guys had bad days on
the mound. We just had an unusual breakdown on defense."
Colorado claimed a 1-0 lead with an unearned second-inning run.
Ben Paulsen's two-out single to shallow center brought home Nolan
Arenado from third after Arenado had earlier reached base on
Hendricks' error.
Kris Bryant's lead-off single in the second gave the Cubs a
baserunner, but he was caught stealing and Chicago didn't have any
more production until the fifth.
That's when Jorge Soler led off with a walk and advanced to third on
an Addison Russell infield single and Bettis' throwing error.
But Soler's potential tying run was blocked by a tag at the plate
when Hendricks bunted into a fielder's choice. The bunt was handled
by Bettis, who lobbed to catcher Tony Wolters.
Colorado opened the sixth with three straight hits, including
Gerardo Parra's RBI single up the middle that scored Carlos Gonzalez
for a 2-0 lead for Bettis. Ryan Raburn grounded to short in a
double play that still brought home Arenado to make it 3-0.
"I think it's big when we strike first and then we try to chip
away," Bettis said. "Big innings are great -- and I'm not ever
against big innings -- but that being said it's always nice to see
constant run support coming in."
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An error by Bryant, the Cubs' third of the game, led to another run
in the seventh when an errant throw allowed Wolters to cross the
plate for a 4-0 lead.
The Cubs ended the shutout in the seventh on pinch hitter Tommy
LaStella's fielder's choice grounder to second that drove in Soler
from third.
Colorado scored twice in the eighth. Wolters reached on a fielder's
choice that allowed Parra to score, and D.J. LeMahieu's groundout
brought home Mark Reynolds to make it 6-1.
Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck left the game in the eighth after
being struck under his mask by a Wolters' foul ball that apparently
ricocheted off home plate.
Third base umpire Clint Fagan moved behind the plate and the game
finished with three umpires.
The series continues with day games on Saturday and Sunday.
"We had a bad day, man, it's not always going to be an oil painting
and I really believe in the power of 24 hours," said Maddon. "So
we'll just throw that one in the can and come back tomorrow and play
our normal game."
NOTES: The Rockies are on the road for the second time this season
with the start of the three-game weekend series in Chicago. They
were 2-1 on a season-opening trip to Arizona before going 3-3 during
a recent homestand. ... RF Carlos Gonzalez remains the most prolific
current Rockies player against the Cubs, batting .343 in 36 games
against Chicago. ... Colorado RHP Chad Bettis, Friday's starter,
faced the Cubs for only the second time ever and was making his
first start. He had a relief appearance at Wrigley Field in 2014.
... The Cubs activated INF Javier Baez off the 15-day disabled list
on Friday after optioning INF Munenori Kawasaki to Triple-A Iowa.
Baez had suffered a left thumb contusion during spring training. ...
RHP Jake Arrieta, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner (2-0, 1.93
ERA) faces Rockies RHP Christian Bergman (0-1, 12.00 ERA) in
Saturday's middle game. ... Both teams wore Jackie Robinson's No. 42
on Friday, marking the 69th anniversary of Robinson's major league
debut and breaking baseball's color barrier.
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