Morning Box Score: Late Rockies Rally Downs Cubs

By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 18, 2011 2:30PM

Thanks to the Cubs' lineup scratching back after being put in a 4-1 first inning hole, Ryan Dempster officially earned a no-decision in yesterday's 9-5 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field. But Dempster knew after the game he didn't help matters with a 29-pitch first inning highlighted by Sean Smith's home run.

"I'm sick and tired of this," Dempster said. "I'm better than that. I've got to do a better job of giving the team a chance to win than that. I've got to do a better job of pitching than that."

Dempster's fallen into a pattern this season of having one bad inning per game. He's also given up four runs per game in each of his starts thus far. Dempster's final pitching line read like this: five innings, five runs, four strikeouts and two walks. But it was Marcos Mateo who was tagged with the loss as the Rockies scored four in their half of the eighth inning to improve their record to a major league-best 12-3. Starlin Castro had a stellar series, going 7-for-13 with four RBIs. He was 3-for-4 yesterday with a double and RBI. Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto also drove in runs for the Cubs, who return home tonight to face the San Diego Padres.