The Colorado Rockies enter their Memorial Day road matchup against the Chicago Cubs with the worst record in Major League Baseball at 8–42, marking one of the most disastrous starts to a season in recent memory. The Rockies are mired in a tailspin on nearly every level of play—offense, defense, and especially pitching—contributing to their inability to stay competitive in most games. Their upcoming starter, left-hander Carson Palmquist, has epitomized the team’s pitching struggles with an 11.88 ERA and 2.52 WHIP, surrendering runs in bunches and failing to escape early innings in several outings. The team’s bullpen has offered no reprieve, regularly entering games in high-leverage situations only to allow leads to balloon further, compounding the pressure on a batting order that has not delivered. Offensively, Colorado ranks near the bottom of every major statistical category, including runs scored, slugging percentage, and team batting average, and they’ve consistently failed to hit their team total—going under in 28 of their last 44 games. With few bright spots in the lineup, the burden of production has fallen on young and underdeveloped bats, most of whom are struggling against high-level pitching. The Rockies’ inability to get on base and capitalize on scoring opportunities has rendered even average pitching matchups difficult, and facing a red-hot Cubs team in Wrigley Field only compounds those difficulties.

Defensively, the Rockies have been equally ineffective, ranking last in defensive efficiency and plagued by costly errors and poor infield communication that regularly turns routine plays into run-scoring opportunities for opponents. Their fielding has placed additional strain on an already overmatched pitching staff, and the combination of poor glove work and ineffective arms has left the team chasing games from the outset. In terms of management, the team has cycled through lineups, bullpen roles, and even coaching philosophies, but nothing has yielded a sustainable solution to their woes. Monday’s contest presents a near-impossible challenge: stopping a Cubs lineup that averages six runs per game while trying to cobble together enough offense to support a pitcher with one of the highest ERAs in the league. Even minor victories—avoiding double-digit losses, getting through five innings without a meltdown, or keeping the game within a few runs—are likely considered progress for this group at this point. As the Rockies continue to search for signs of development in a season that already feels lost, games like these are more about evaluating talent and instilling a culture of resilience than making a serious push for wins. Unfortunately, against a confident and surging Cubs team, Colorado looks completely outmatched, and unless they can summon a rare offensive surge or hope for a collapse on the other side, they appear poised to suffer another defeat in a season where those have become painfully routine.