Rocky Mountain Heat: Cubs beat Rockies 10-1 to avoid sweep in bruise-filled series

Seven players total were hit by pitches in the three games, four on Wednesday. Kris Bryant got the day off after getting twice Wednesday.

DENVER – If the Cubs play the Rockies again this season, it will be in October with the stakes significantly raised.

Meanwhile, the teams settled for raising the temperatures in their final meeting of the regular season Wednesday after a series of hit batters, bench warnings and one well timed, expertly pimped home run by Cubs shortstop Javy Baez.

Whatever messages may (or may not) have been sent on a day when four players were hit by pitches – at least two with apparent purpose – the Cubs’ 10-1 victory provided at least an emotional boost as they head to Los Angeles for a four-game series against the top team in the National League.

“I thought we had good energy before the game, and that’s what it takes,” said Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who was hit by a Phillip Diehl pitch in the eighth – drawing bench warnings.

Four pitches later, Baez drove a 460-foot home run to left field, then paused to stare down Diehl before slowly making his way around the bases for a 10-0 lead.

“I would say he watched that one a little extra there, which is nice,” Rizzo said. “As a team, the whole team, you think something is intentional and you get them back like that, it feels a little better.”

Baez apparently didn’t want to talk about it after the game, making himself scarce when media arrived.

But his performance and intent on the field spoke volumes during the game – including the bottom of the ninth inning, when, with one out and a runner at third, he fielded a routine grounder and actually looked to the plate before throwing to first for the out.

Catcher Victor Caratini, who surmised that Baez was trying to preserve the shutout – “or try to scare us” – said he was prepared for a throw. “Because I know Javy.”

Talk about sending a message.

As it was, enough tempers stayed cool enough to avoid any bench-clearing incidents – even after Arenado was jawed at pitcher Cole Hamels and the Cubs’ bench when he was hit on the forearm by Hamels in the third.

“People yell at me all the time, good and bad,” said Hamels – who wound up getting hit on the ankle by what appeared to be a mistake by Bryan Shaw in the seventh, and limped slightly after the game.

Hamels (6-2), who pitched a seventh scoreless inning after getting hit, said it was sore but didn’t think it would affect his ability to make his next scheduled start on time.

Players were hit by pitches seven times overall during the three-game series won by the Rockies. Manager Joe Maddon and players alluded to the need to pitch inside at Coors Field, but there was enough perceived intent on enough pitches that long memories could be in play if these teams meet in October.

With Cubs star Kris Bryant getting an unexpected day off after getting hit three times in a week by the Rockies – twice on Tuesday – Arenado said, “I kind of had a feeling it was going to happen.”

Rockies pitcher German Marquez hit two Cubs in a loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field last week.

“I don’t have to explain what’s going on,” said Arenado, who left the game an inning after he was hit because of the bruised forearm. “You saw the games in Chicago. You saw them here. It’s baseball.”

Maddon doesn’t spend a lot of sympathy on other teams when it comes to this issue – nor Arenado’s response on the field.

“Right now we lead the league in getting hit by pitches, and our guys go to first base,” he said, adding that as a longtime coach he taught his hitters:

“You’ve got two options: Go to the mound or go to first base. But don’t sit there and jabber. Either one’s fine, but you have two choices.”