Rockies, Gray shut down Cubs to snap skid

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[May 02, 2018]  Jon Gray tossed seven strong innings and was backed by three home runs, and the visiting Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Charlie Blackmon, David Dahl and Nolan Arenado homered and Wade Davis got the last three outs for his 11th save for Colorado.

Anthony Rizzo homered for the Cubs.

The game featured four home runs -- all solo shots -- but it was enough for the Rockies, who ended a three-game losing streak with the win at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs had won five in a row.

Blackmon led off the game with his 10th home run off Kyle Hendricks. Dahl followed with his first of the year to make it 2-0 after just 10 pitches by the Cubs' starter.

Rizzo cut the lead in half with his second home run of the season on the first pitch from Gray leading off the bottom of the first. Arenado stretched the lead back to two when he homered in the fourth, his fifth of the season.

Gray (3-4) retired nine in a row after Rizzo's home run and worked out of a couple of jams. Kris Bryant led off the fourth with a single and Ben Zobrist walked but Gray got the next three batters to end the threat.

Chicago had another good scoring chance in the seventh inning when Kyle Schwarber hit a one-out triple to right. Gray then struck out Victor Caratini on a high fastball and got Jason Heyward to pop out to catcher Tony Wolters behind home plate.

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Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (28) pitches against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Young-USA TODAY Sports

It was the second straight strong start for Gray after three rough outings. He struck out 11 and didn't allow a run in six innings against San Diego on April 25 and followed that by striking out six and allowing one run on three hits Tuesday.

Hendricks (2-2) was almost as effective as Gray but was a hard-luck loser. He allowed three runs on four hits, struck out five and walked two. He left after issuing a two-out walk to Blackmon in the eighth inning after throwing 104 pitches.

--Field Level Media

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