CHICAGO -- The Colorado Rockies didn't need much with the way Tyler Chatwood was dominating. One big home run from DJ LeMahieu was plenty.
Chatwood pitched four-hit ball over six innings, LeMahieu hit a three-run homer and the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 for their season-high fifth straight win Thursday night.
"I just feel like we expect to win, which has really been different," LeMahieu said. "We expect to win road, home, whatever."
The Rockies lead the National League with 39 wins following six straight losing seasons. They've been particularly good on the road at 22-10.
Colorado is doing it with solid all-around play, and the pitching, defense and offense were all there against the Cubs on Thursday.
The NL West leaders only managed six hits, but one flurry in the second inning was all they needed.
The Rockies got their runs after Jon Lester (3-4) struck out the first two batters. Charlie Blackmon blooped an RBI double to left just beyond diving shortstop Javier Baez. LeMahieu, who played for the Cubs in 2011, followed with an opposite field drive to the basket in right.
In a flash, it was 4-1. And the way Chatwood was pitching, that was more than enough.
Lester lost at Wrigley Field for the first time in nearly 13 months, while the Cubs dropped their second straight after winning a season-high five in a row. They did that hours after Major League Baseball said it is looking into a domestic violence accusation against shortstop Addison Russell.
Chatwood (6-7) shut down Chicago after giving up a solo homer to Kris Bryant in the first. He also singled and scored.
Greg Holland picked up his major league-leading 22nd save in as many chances with a scoreless ninth.
Lester went five innings, allowing four runs and six hits, in his first loss at Wrigley Field since Pittsburgh beat him on May 15, 2016. Counting the playoffs, he was 14-0 in his previous 20 starts at home.
"I love pitching at home," Lester said. "It's home. I've had blips here and there in my career. But for the most part, I've pitched pretty well at home. You always want to try to do that."
The difference this time was one little spurt in the second.
"I just know we were in for it tonight and we had one huge swing by DJ and that swung the game," Rockies manager Bud Black said.
RUSSELL HELD OUT
The Cubs told Russell not to come to the ballpark on Thursday, and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was not sure when he will rejoin the team.
Russell's wife, Melisa, posted a photo Wednesday on Instagram with a caption suggesting he was unfaithful to her. In another post, a user named (at)carlierreed -- described by Melisa as a close friend -- accused Russell of "mentally and physically abusing her." The posts have been deleted.
Russell denied the accusations in a statement on Thursday.
If there was a different vibe at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs take pride in the team's character, manager Joe Maddon insisted the atmosphere in the dugout was no different than normal.
"I thought the guys handled everything really well today," he said. "I'm very proud of the way we did handle it."
ROCKIES MOVES
Utility player Alexi Amarista rejoined the Rockies after missing two games for the birth of his third daughter. He was batting .338 with two homers and 14 RBI in 30 games. Colorado optioned infielder/outfielder Jordan Patterson to Triple-A Albuquerque.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson (left knee inflammation) will throw a side session next week, but manager Bud Black is unsure when he will go on a rehab assignment. Anderson -- 3-5 with a 5.85 ERA in 11 starts -- is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday.
Cubs: The Cubs placed RHP Kyle Hendricks on the 10-day disabled list because of tendinitis in his pitching hand. ... The Cubs also selected right-hander Seth Frankoff's contract from Triple-A Iowa and transferred left-hander Brett Anderson (strained lower back) to the 60-day disabled list.
UP NEXT
With Hendricks out, LHP Mike Montgomery (0-3, 2.21 ERA) makes his first start of the season for Chicago, while RHP German Marquez (4-3, 4.53) goes for Colorado. Marquez had his start pushed back a day because of a bruised right thumb.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball





Final
Series: Game 1 of 4

Rockies 4

(39-23, 22-10 away)

Cubs 1

(30-29, 19-13 home)




8:05PM,EDT,June 8,2017
Wrigley Field, Chicago,Illinois 

123456789 R H E
COL 040000000 4 6 0
CHC 100000000 1 5 0
W: T. Chatwood (6-7)
L: J. Lester (3-4)
S: G. Holland (22)




View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-PitchInning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Colorado - Top of 1stSCORE
Jon Lester pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Blackmon doubled to deep left.00
LeMahieu grounded out to pitcher.00
Arenado grounded out to first, Blackmon to third.00
Reynolds walked.00
González struck out swinging.00
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 1stSCORE
Tyler Chatwood pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Happ struck out swinging.00
Bryant homered to center (393 feet).01
Rizzo struck out swinging.01
Zobrist grounded out to catcher.01
1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 2ndSCORE
Jon Lester pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Desmond struck out looking.01
Story struck out looking.01
Wolters reached on infield single to third.01
Chatwood singled to left, Wolters to second.01
Blackmon doubled to shallow left, Wolters scored, Chatwood to third.11
LeMahieu homered to right (368 feet), Chatwood and Blackmon scored.41
Arenado singled to right.41
Reynolds flied out to right.41
4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 2ndSCORE
Tyler Chatwood pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Heyward grounded out to shortstop.41
Contreras grounded out to third.41
Báez flied out to center.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 3rdSCORE
Jon Lester pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
González struck out swinging.41
Desmond grounded out to shortstop.41
Story struck out swinging.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 3rdSCORE
Tyler Chatwood pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Lester grounded out to shortstop.41
Schwarber walked.41
Happ grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Schwarber out at second.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 4thSCORE
Jon Lester pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Wolters lined out to center.41
Chatwood grounded out to pitcher.41
Blackmon grounded out to second.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 4thSCORE
Tyler Chatwood pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Bryant grounded out to third.41
Rizzo singled to right.41
Zobrist grounded into fielder's choice to third, Rizzo out at second.41
Heyward grounded out to second.41
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 5thSCORE
Jon Lester pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
LeMahieu lined out to right.41
Arenado grounded out to shortstop.41
Reynolds grounded out to shortstop.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 5thSCORE
Tyler Chatwood pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Contreras struck out swinging.41
Báez singled to center.41
Montero hit for Lester.41
Montero grounded out to second, Báez to second.41
Schwarber struck out swinging.41
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 6thSCORE
Hector Rondon pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Rondón relieved Lester.41
González grounded out to third.41
Desmond struck out swinging.41
Story struck out swinging.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 6thSCORE
Tyler Chatwood pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Happ grounded out to pitcher.41
Bryant flied out to right.41
Rizzo walked.41
Zobrist singled to left, Rizzo to second.41
Heyward grounded out to second.41
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 7thSCORE
Hector Rondon pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Wolters grounded out to second.41
Tapia hit for Chatwood.41
Tapia grounded out to second.41
Blackmon walked.41
LeMahieu grounded out to second.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 7thSCORE
Scott Oberg pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Oberg relieved Chatwood.41
Contreras singled to right.41
Báez flied out to center.41
Almora Jr. hit for Rondón.41
Almora Jr. grounded into double play, third to second to first, Contreras out at second.41
0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 8thSCORE
Pedro Strop pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Strop relieved Rondón.41
Arenado flied out to left.41
Reynolds grounded out to second.41
González flied out to left.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 8thSCORE
Jake McGee pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
McGee relieved Oberg.41
Schwarber popped out to second.41
Happ struck out swinging.41
Bryant flied out to right.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Colorado - Top of 9thSCORE
Justin Grimm pitching for ChicagoCOLCHC
Grimm relieved Strop.41
Desmond struck out swinging.41
Story struck out swinging.41
Wolters flied out to right.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors
Chicago - Bottom of 9thSCORE
Greg Holland pitching for ColoradoCOLCHC
Holland relieved McGee.41
Rizzo walked.41
Zobrist lined out to center.41
Heyward grounded out to second, Rizzo to second.41
Contreras grounded out to shortstop.41
0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors




Colorado Rockies

HittersABRHRBIBBSO#PAVGOBPSLG
Blackmon CF31211021.337.380.619
LeMahieu 2B41130012.277.345.368
Arenado 3B40100015.290.352.567
Reynolds 1B30001013.297.376.560
González RF40000217.232.312.362
Desmond LF40000313.266.295.374
Story SS40000425.212.309.418
Wolters C41100018.300.403.364
Chatwood P2110007.217.217.261
a-Tapia PH
1000001.000.067.000
0000000.000.000.000
0000000.000.000.000
0000000.000.000.000
Totals3346429142   
a-grounded to second for T Chatwood in the 7th
BATTING
2B: Blackmon 2 (16, Lester 2)
HR: LeMahieu (3, 2nd inning off Lester 2 on, 2 Out)
RBI: Blackmon (50), LeMahieu 3 (27)
2-out RBI: Blackmon, LeMahieu 3
Rockies RISP: 2-5 (LeMahieu 1-2, Blackmon 1-1, González 0-1, Arenado 0-1)
Team LOB: 4
FIELDING
DP: 2 (LeMahieu-Story-Reynolds, Arenado-LeMahieu-Reynolds).

Game Information

StadiumWrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Attendance39,385 (96.2% full) - % is based on regular season capacity
Game Time2:44
Weather74 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind4 mph
UmpiresHome Plate - Jerry Layne, First Base - Dan Bellino, Second Base - Mike Estabrook, Third Base - Marvin Hudson