CHICAGO — To reach the dugout from their cramped, odiferous clubhouse, the Rockies descended 22 cement steps, made a right at the frazzled miniature golf carpet, took a left at the water drip and another right into the sunlight Thursday.
But once on the new sod at Wrigley Field, they could not execute a U-turn, illegal or otherwise.
In their second state and second time zone of a 10-game road trip, the Rockies remained winless, stumbling 8-4 as they creep closer to playing for next season than the postseason.
It was the Rockies’ fourth consecutive loss, and ninth in a row in road games.
“You have to get to a point where enough is enough,” third baseman Garrett Atkins said.
The Cubs are a major-league best 23-8 at home, and they worked over reliever Matt Herges in the bottom of the seventh.
It began ominously when Ian Stewart, playing in an unfamiliar position at second base, misplayed a popup into shallow right field. After a Ryan Theriot single left runners at first and third, Herges had a chance to get out of it.
Derrek Lee hit a nubber toward the mound. Herges fielded it with his bare hand, then threw wildly to first base, the first of two throwing errors by Rockies pitchers.
Alfonso Soriano scored, tying the game at 4-4. And Theriot jogged home with the go-ahead run on catcher Geovany Soto’s sacrifice fly to right field.
A forgettable ninth only widened the Cubs’ lead off the Taylor Buchholz (no outs, three runs).
