Winning run scores on error in 11th, Cubs lose to Rockies

DENVER (AP) - In a back-and-forth game that stretched long into the cold, wet night, an errant throw provided the final twist.

Ryan Raburn hit an RBI double and continued home when the Cubs threw away the relay, capping a two-run rally in the 11th inning against Aroldis Chapman that sent the Colorado Rockies over Chicago 7-6 early Saturday.

"I've known and I've seen Raburn for a long time," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He does hit lefties well. He's a really good batter against left-handed pitching. He came through for them."

Rain delayed the start for more than two hours and temperatures dropped into the 40s. The Rockies wound up winning well past midnight.

Dexter Fowler, who led off the game with a home run, gave Chicago a 6-5 lead by blooping an RBI single in the top of the 11th.

In the bottom half, Nick Hundley singled with one out off Chapman (0-1). Raburn then tied it with a drive off the right-field wall. And when second baseman Javier Baez made a wild throw that got past catcher Willson Contreras and flew into the Cubs' dugout, the umpires waved Raburn home.

"We did a lot of good things," Maddon said. "Aroldis was not perfect. Hundley's hit was really a big play right there."

Maddon said the umpires ruled that Raburn had reached second before the relay throw was made, entitling him to two bases on the error.

"Had the ball hit the screen (in front of the dugout) and comes back, it is still in play. But it went out," Maddon said.

Matt Carasiti (1-0) got the win.

Down 5-1 after six innings, the Rockies scratched back and later scored three times in the eighth to tie it at 5. They went on to post their first extra-inning win in four tries this season, overtaking the team with the best record in the majors.

Rookie David Dahl homered for Colorado. Addison Russell connected for Chicago.

Rob Zastryzny, making his major league debut after being recalled by the Cubs before the game from Triple-A Iowa, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 10th by getting Gerardo Parra to ground out. Felix Pena, who also made his first big league appearance after being recalled, pitched a perfect ninth.

"They really held their own well," Maddon said. "They made pitches when they had to and actually gave us a chance to win."

Zastryzny said his first outing was a confidence booster.

"This outing justified me being here," he said. "It proved I could get outs under difficult situations."

Kris Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, including an RBI single. Fowler hit his 20th career leadoff homer and sixth this season.

Russell's two-run homer made it 5-1 in the sixth. The Rockies got an unearned run in the seventh on a throwing error from Bryant at third base.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: RHP John Lackey was put on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain. ... RHP Hector Rondon also was placed on the DL because of a right triceps strain.

Rockies: CF Charlie Blackmon was scratched from the starting lineup because of a bruised right toe but he came on in the 10th inning as a pinch-hitter. ... After battling colitis for the past month, RHP Chad Qualls has been reinstated from the DL.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Mike Montgomery (1-1), who has been pitching out of the bullpen since being acquired from Seattle a month ago, is set to make his first start as a member of the Cubs.

Rockies: RHP Jeff Hoffman, a former first-round pick of the Blue Jays who was acquired a year ago as part of the deal that sent Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, is slated to start in his major league debut.