CHICAGO _ David Bote provided comfort Wednesday night as an increasingly thick fog rolled into Wrigley Field, causing temperatures to dip by 12 degrees from the start of the game.
Bote soothed Cubs fans by hitting a three-run home run off Rockies starter German Marquez with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning to snap a scoreless tie.
That giddy feeling extended all the way to the message board, where an update of the Marlins' eventual win over the National League Central rival Brewers was posted with 100 games left in the Brewers' season.
Moments later, those good vibes were chilled when the Rockies rallied for three runs thanks partly to a throwing error by first baseman Anthony Rizzo that spoiled an encouraging start by Yu Darvish.
But Bote came through again in the bottom of the sixth as he ripped a three-run double down the left field line off left-hander Chris Rusin to cap a five-run rally. Bote added a two-out RBI single in the eighth to cap a 4-for-4, seven-RBI performance as the Cubs held on for a 9-8 victory to extend their winning streak to three games and regain sole possession of first place in the NL Central.
The win occurred about three hours after the Cubs agreed to terms with seven-time All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel, who can't join the Cubs soon enough.
Until Kimbrel passes a physical examination and is deemed in game shape, the Cubs will continue to keep their fingers crossed with their current batch of relievers.
After Bote's three-run double, Brad Brach walked the leadoff batter, issued three consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly that caused manager Joe Maddon to pull him.
Meanwhile, Bote is making the most of his playing time. He is 15-for-35 (.429) in his last 10 starts dating to May 18, and his seven RBIs are a career high and are the most by a Cubs player since Willson Contreras drove in seven against the White Sox on May 11, 2018.
Darvish, who entered Wednesday's game with a 6.32 ERA in six home starts, appeared on the verge of his first home win of the season until he walked Trevor Story with one out in the sixth. David Dahl and Nolan Arenado followed with hits to end his shutout bid and his performance.
Left-hander Kyle Ryan replaced Darvish and induced Daniel Murphy to hit a feeble grounder to Rizzo, whose throw to second sailed past Javier Baez and advanced Arenado to third, where he scored the tying run on a single by Ryan McMahon.
Carl Edwards Jr. bailed Mike Montgomery out of a jam by retiring two batters with the tying run at second to end the eighth.
But Steve Cishek allowed a double to Story and an RBI single to Dahl to start the ninth before retiring the next three batters to earn his sixth save in eight chances.
