DENVER — Cubs reliever Nate Pearson entered the game with the bases loaded, facing Hunter Goodman, who had already done more damage than any other Rockies hitter Friday night.
Pearson got ahead in the count with a slider that Goodman fouled off and another low and outside that he whiffed on.
“You try to grab one and get it out of the zone,” manager Craig Counsell said, “and you just do a little bit too much.”
And it ends up in the hitter’s sweet spot. Goodman’s first career grand slam broke a tie in the eighth inning and gave the Rockies a 9-5 victory.
The Cubs fell six games behind the Mets for the third National League wild-card spot. The Mets beat the Phillies 11-3 on Friday, amplifying the blow of the Cubs’ loss.
“I thought we battled all day,” said Michael Busch, who hit a game-tying, three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning. “It’s the way the ball rolls sometimes. . . . Flush just one and roll in tomorrow and try to get a win.”
The Cubs will have a tough time clinging to that glimmer of hope of making the playoffs if they don’t bounce back and win the series.
Goodman also hit a two-run homer and RBI single earlier against Cubs starter Javier Assad, who allowed four runs in six innings.
The Rockies extended their lead in the seventh when Ezequiel Tovar hit a solo homer off reliever Ethan Roberts. But Busch’s towering homer put the Cubs right back in it. Then, Cubs reliever Drew Smyly loaded the bases in the eighth inning, and Pearson replaced him to face Goodman.
Brennen Davis to 60-day IL
The Cubs claimed right-hander Jimmy Herget off waivers from the Braves and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. The 31-year-old reliever made eight appearances for Atlanta, amassing a 4.38 ERA.
To clear a spot for him on the 40-man roster, the Cubs recalled minor-league outfielder Brennen Davis and put him on the 60-day injured list with a fractured left ankle.
“It’s tough because he’s had a number of unfortunate accidents,” Counsell said. “And when they add up, just mentally it gets hard for the player, as much as anything.”
Davis, a former Cubs top prospect, has battled through a long list of injuries, many of them uncommon, including a vascular malformation that necessitated back surgery, two concussions, core muscle surgery, a stress reaction in his back and a stress fracture in his back.
“I can also tell you that he’s not the first, you know, and as a player, you’ve got to just persevere through it, and he will, and you just keep working and get yourself back,” Counsell said. “That’s how sometimes, as a professional, you have to do it. You have to deal with some roadblocks that get put in front of you that are not of your control always, and you just keep fighting. And I’m sure Brennen will.”
Injury update
Cubs reliever Julian Merryweather (right knee tendinitis) was scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Iowa on Friday in the first game of his rehab assignment. Merryweather has been on the 15-day IL for 2½ weeks.
“We feel like we’ve got chances here and we can make this a really good two weeks,” Counsell said of the remainder of the regular season, “and Julian’s trying to get back to be part of that.”
Left-handed starter Justin Steele (left elbow tendinitis) is set to throw the second bullpen of his rehab progression Saturday in Colorado.