MEDIA CLIPS – April 18, 2016 Arenado homers twice as Chatwood quiets Cubs By Thomas Harding and Cody Stavenhagen / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016 CHICAGO -- Nolan Arenado homered twice and Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood threw seven stellar innings to outduel Cubs left-hander Jon Lester for a 2-0 victory on Sunday at Wrigley Field that turned out to be historic. Arenado lofted a fourth-inning Lester pitch into the basket in left field for a home run, then went deep in the ninth against reliever Justin Grimm. It was the first time in the 24-season history of the Rockies that they've won a game 2-0 solely on solo home runs, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Chatwood gave up two hits and struck out seven, helping the Rockies slow the Cubs' lineup for the second time in three days and giving Colorado the weekend series win. "Overall, it was a big team win and series win, and that was our focus coming in," Chatwood said. Lester went 7 1/3, surrendering four hits and striking out 10. His only hiccup was against Arenado, who improved his homer total to six. However, Arenado said Chatwood was the driving force. "Last night, I said, 'Chatty's on the bump, so we've got a good chance to win this game,'" said Arenado, who became the first player in the Majors to hit two solo homers in a 2-0 victory since the Red Sox's Mookie Betts against the Rays last May 5. "It's huge, big for our confidence. It's a big series win for us." Miguel Castro and Jake McGee finished Chatwood's work in the eighth and ninth as the Rockies won for the fourth time in five games. Colorado improved to 7-5, and the Cubs moved to 9-3. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Taking his shot: A day after going 0-for-4 on his 25th birthday against Jake Arrieta, Arenado entered Sunday 1-for-9 in the previous two games -- the only hit being a rare (for him) bunt single. But he bounced back in a big way with his second 1 two-homer game in five days. He also had two home runs in a seven-RBI performance against the Padres on Wednesday. "[Arenado] is one of the best hitters and the best defensive third basemen in the league for a reason, and he obviously beat us today, so you have to tip your hat to him," Lester said. No history, still no runs: With two outs in the fifth, Jorge Soler ended Chatwood's bid for a perfect game with a walk, and Javier Baez followed by ending the no-hitter with a single to left. With two on and two out, David Ross grounded out to end the inning. "I think he made big pitches when he had to," Ross said. "That's why he's one of their front-line guys. Kept us off balance and worked the corners really well." Unflustered: Lester surprised Chatwood and the Rockies with a double to right-center to open the sixth. But Chatwood buzzed through the top of the order, with fly balls from Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist sandwiching a strikeout of Jason Heyward. The 100-pitch effort was the second strong start in three games for Chatwood, who before this season hadn't pitched in the Majors since April 29, 2014, because of a long recovery from Tommy John surgery. "Being away for as long as he has, and to pitch like he has, is pretty amazing," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "To shut down that lineup like he did, you can't throw the ball any better than he did." Don't leave early: The Cubs didn't go away without some suspense. Heyward hit a double with one out in the ninth, and Zobrist hit a ball to the warning track for the second out. After Anthony Rizzo got hit by a pitch, Kris Bryant came up with a chance to win the game, but struck out swinging. "It's just good to be in that opportunity late in the game," Heyward said. "We don't quit. We're not going to quit. Just trying to make every team earn a win." NOT STREAKING, BUT CONTRIBUTING Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, in a difficult left-on-left matchup with Lester, saw his career-best hit streak end at 21 games (dating to last season) and his season-opening run end at 11 games. But before the Cubs had their first baserunner, he had a dazzling defensive play -- a sliding catch near the foul line to rob Anthony Rizzo of extra bases. 2 QUOTABLE "Nolan finds a way to win just about every day. He's involved in all the wins we have, either defensively or offensively. We don't ever want to take him for granted. We've certainly seen plenty of it." -- Weiss, on Arenado SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Rockies starters entered Wrigley with a 6.94 ERA in the season's first nine games. But Chad Bettis, Christian Bergman and Chatwood combined for a 1.00 mark (two earned runs in 18 innings). WHAT'S NEXT Rockies: The Rockies have won 12 of their last 19 games against the Reds. Righty Jordan Lyles (0-1, 11.25 ERA) will try to find his groove and maintain the Rockies' when they face the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Monday at 5:10 p.m. MT. Cubs: The Cubs begin their first National League Central series with John Lackey starting against the Cardinals, the team he left for the Cubs in free agency. Lackey (2-0, 5.68 ERA) will start against the Cards for the first time in the regular season Monday at 7:09 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium. 3 Chatwood calms nerves with brilliant start Righty blanks Cubs over 7 frames in third game back from TJ surgery By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016 CHICAGO -- The Tommy John surgery that kept Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood out of the Majors from April 29, 2014, to April 6 this year -- his second such operation -- is no longer an event that brings nervousness when he remembers it. It's much closer to just a line in his bio. On Sunday, Chatwood was perfect for 4 2/3 innings and held the Cubs to two hits in seven innings in a 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field. For Chatwood -- who underwent the first operation on his right elbow while in high school -- the 100-pitch, seven-strikeout performance had more to do with winning a series than celebrating arm health. "I think it's up there after the last two years," Chatwood said. "But the biggest thing is to come in here and win a series against a really good team." It was his 13th career start of seven or more innings, his fifth since joining the Rockies in a trade with the Angels (for catcher Chris Iannetta) after the 2011 season. Rockies manager Walt Weiss said, "Chatwood was outstanding. Think about the fact he's been away for a long time, a couple of years. He's pitching very well for us. His first few outings for us have been outstanding. To shut that lineup down, that's quite a feat." Chatwood (2-1) located his cutter early, clearing the way for his two-seam and four-seam fastballs and changeup. Through four spotless innings, he threw first-pitch strikes to eight of the 12 batters. "He had a set plan and he wasn't getting away from it," Rockies catcher Tony Wolters said. Chatwood needed Carlos Gonzalez's sliding catch to rob Anthony Rizzo of extra bases to open the sixth. With two outs, Chatwood walked Jorge Soler and gave up a Javier Baez single to left before forcing David Ross into a fielder's choice. Chatwood labored some in the sixth, when opposing pitcher Jon Lester doubled to lead off before Chatwood induced a Dexter Fowler popup, fanned Jason Heyward and worked a fly ball from Ben Zobrist. But Chatwood needed just 10 pitches in the seventh, which allowed Weiss to hand the ball to Miguel Castro and Jake McGee, who had an eventful ninth, to finish the shutout. Chatwood finished with 14 first-pitch strikes against 24 batters faced, and 63 strikes total. The difference in his lone loss of the season his last time out was the two two-out homers Chatwood allowed to the Giants' Hunter Pence and Trevor Brown. With a dangerous Cubs lineup, Chatwood didn't have time to be haunted. 4 "All I'm worried about is executing the pitch I want to throw," Chatwood said. "You can't really control what happens after the ball leaves your hand. We had some really good defensive plays behind me and Tony called a really good game." 5 Arenado's 2 homers a belated birthday gift Slugger powers Rockies to series win day after turning 25 By Thomas Harding / MLB.com | @harding_at_mlb | April 17th 2016 CHICAGO -- Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado turned 25 and a day on Sunday. That extra day turned into a special occasion -- his second two-homer game in a week -- in a 2-0 victory at Wrigley Field as his team took two of three from the Cubs. "I don't even like my birthday anymore," Arenado said. "I like the day after my birthday." Facing reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta turned Saturday into a birthday bummer.