Carrigg gives Rox 'a breath of fresh air' with 3rd HR since callup

CHICAGO -- Rockies prospect Cole Carrigg was more than a bystander in a historic game at Wrigley Field Monday night.

Carrigg’s eighth-inning homer gave the Rockies a lead, but the Cubs won a 5-4 walk-off decision -- on a night when Pete Crow-Armstrong hit for the 13th cycle in franchise history.

The switch-hitting Carrigg marked his first game at the Friendly Confines by going deep for the third time in seven Major League games since being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque. It was the first righty home run for Colorado's No. 6 prospect (per MLB Pipeline).

And the specialness of the venue wasn’t lost on him.

“It was a blast. Wrigley is one of those fields that you dream about playing in,” Carrigg said. “Wish we could have got the win.

“It’s definitely the loudest environment I’ve ever been in. It was not necessarily another baseball game -- it’s the same game.”

It’s doubtful playing in storied ballparks will ever grow old for Carrigg, 24. He’s playing like someone who has a chance to play in all the parks for a long time.

Carrigg drove in all of the Rockies’ runs Monday night. In the sixth, he narrowly missed a double past first base but drew a bases-loaded walk from Phil Maton. The homer came with two outs in the eighth, when he sat fastball against Caleb Thielbar and swatted a pitch on the upper inside part of the plate 105.1 mph into the left-field bleachers for a 4-2 lead.

“He’s been absolutely awesome,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Are you kidding me? The homer in Wrigley, down one in the eighth. What do you say about that? The kid’s first seven games, and he’s doing that already -- that’s impressive.”

Injuries to outfielders Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck meant daily playing time in center was available to Carrigg. On Monday, Schaeffer made offensive substitutions throughout.

But Schaeffer stuck with Carrigg, who took ground balls in the infield and moved to shortstop after Ezequiel Tovar was removed for left-handed hitting Troy Johnston. Johnston was hit by a Maton pitch just before Carrigg drew the RBI walk. In preparation for his first Major League opportunity, Carrigg played shortstop in the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel.

“He’s not scared of anything,” Schaeffer said. “He’s a breath of fresh air. It’s fun watching him play, man.”