Rockies bring offense to town

Cubs manager Rick Renteria mentioned after Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Cardinals that fans like to see a lot of scoring. Instead, fans got to enjoy a nice pitchers duel between the Cubs' Kyle Hendricks and St. Louis' Adam Wainwright.

But don't look now, the Colorado Rockies are coming to town.

The Rockies arrive from the Wild West leading the National League in many key offensive categories. However, these gunslingers are last in the NL in team ERA, so it should make for an interesting four games at Wrigley Field beginning Monday night.

"Obviously, we're going to have to make pitches," Renteria said. "We're going to have to try to do a little bit of what Kyle did (Sunday), and just execute."

It's interesting to note that the Cubs will be facing four left-handed starting pitchers in the series. The Cubs have faced left-handed starters just 20 times this year, going 10-10. They're 32-51 in games started by righties.

"We'll mix and match, obviously," Renteria said. "And you'll see a different look to the lineup. It's going to be good for us to see those guys and get to other side of the box."

Spoiler alert, spoiler alert:

Even though the Cubs are 42-61 and last in the NL Central, Rick Renteria has avoided talking about being "spoilers."

"I'm not trying to envision us in any particular place other than making sure that these guys push and play the game," he said of his players. "What are we as a club? What are we competing for?

"You're still playing for your teammates. You're playing for the city. You're playing for each other, and you're trying to be hopefully still professional.

"The biggest thing you have to understand is that the season is not going to stop just because simply depending on where you're at in terms of the standings. You still have to play the game. Everybody deserves a really good effort."

This and that:

First baseman Anthony Rizzo has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 15-for-45. His .316 batting average at home is 64 points higher than his home batting average from last year. … The Cubs have allowed at least 1 run in the first inning in five straight games for 10 runs total.