Rockies Make Swift Work of Cubs, 5-4

DENVER — Dante Bichette and Quinton McCracken homered Thursday as Bill Swift and the Colorado Rockies defeated the Chicago Cubs, 5-4.

Swift (3-1) gave up one run on only four hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked three.

The Rockies swept the two-game series and improved to 4-0 against Chicago this season.

Errors by shortstop Walt Weiss and first baseman Andres Galarraga gave the Cubs two unearned runs in the eighth inning, making it 5-3.

Tyler Houston led off the Chicago ninth with his first home run of the season. Mark Grace grounded out with runners on first and second to end the game, giving Steve Reed his first save.

Frank Castillo (1-4), who had a 2.87 earned-run average and won his two previous starts at Coors Field, gave up four runs in six innings. A rare error by second baseman Ryne Sandberg made two of the runs unearned.

Castillo walked Eric Young and McCracken with one out in the third inning. Shortstop Shawon Dunston fielded Larry Walker’s potential double-play grounder and made an underhanded flip that got past Sandberg and into right field, allowing both runners to score.

Dunston tripled in the sixth and scored on Grace’s sacrifice fly.

Bichette hit a two-run homer in the sixth for a 4-1 lead. His 419-foot shot was his third home run of the season and followed a leadoff single by Galarraga.

McCracken hit a leadoff homer against Bob Patterson in the seventh.

Brian McRae, who had three hits, singled in the eighth and the Cubs loaded the bases on an error by Weiss and a walk to Grace. Sammy Sosa hit a grounder that Galarraga threw away, allowing one run to score, and another scored on Brooks Kieschnick’s double-play grounder.

Cub third baseman Kevin Orie sat out his second consecutive game because of stiffness in his right shoulder.

Catcher Scott Servais ended Chicago’s six-game errorless streak with a wild throw in the second inning.

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