Cron homers twice to back Senzatela as Rockies beat Cubs 9-6

DENVER (AP) – C.J. Cron homered twice and Antonio Senzatela pitched five solid innings in his 100th career start for Colorado as the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 on Saturday night. Cron hit a two-run shot in a four-run third inning and connected again leading off the seventh, driving the first pitch he saw from reliever Ethan Roberts into the left-field bleachers for his third homer in two games and fifth this season. Alan Trejo had two hits and two RBIs, Connor Joe added an RBI triple and former Cubs star Kris Bryant drove in a run with a fielder’s choice. Patrick Wisdom had three hits, including a two-run double in Chicago’s four-run seventh. Jonathan Villar had four hits and three RBIs for the Cubs. Seiya Suzuki doubled in the second and has hit safely in each of his first seven games in which he had an at-bat to begin his major league career. Colorado added to its lead with three runs in the fourth, capped by a run-scoring single from Charlie Blackmon that put the Rockies in front 7-1. Senzatela (1-0), who became the 13th pitcher in Rockies history to start 100 games, allowed one run and seven hits. He walked none and struck out two. Daniel Bard got three outs for his fourth save in five chances. Mark Leiter Jr. (0-1), recalled from Triple-A Iowa, made his Cubs debut and struck out the side in the first inning before running into trouble in the third. The son of former major league pitcher Mark Leiter went 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits in his first major league appearance since Sept. 25, 2018, with Toronto against Houston. He missed the 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. POWER SURGE Cron had his 14th career multi-homer game and first since Aug. 8, 2021, against Miami. He led the Rockies last season with 28 home runs. TAKING A LEAD The Cubs got on the board first thanks to Villar’s third-inning RBI single. They have held a lead in each of their first eight games, though they dropped to 4-4. The 1938 Cubs hold the team record for most consecutive games with a lead to start the season with 19. PICKOFF PLAY Senzatela got his first career pickoff in the first inning, catching Villar off first base. TRAINER’S ROOM Rockies: OF Randal Grichuk went through a full range of baseball activities before the game and could return to the lineup as soon as Sunday after missing the previous three games due to back soreness. ‘» SS José Iglesias was rested for a second consecutive game with a hamstring problem and remains day-to-day. Colorado manager Bud Black said Iglesias is nearing full strength and could resume playing any day. UP NEXT Cubs LHP Drew Smyly (1-0, 0.00 ERA) is set to start Sunday’s series finale against LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 5.79). ___ More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports