Cubs feeling 'awesome' after scrappy 3-1 victory against Rockies puts them on pace for 99 wins

The Cubs have the most potent offense in the major leagues, but they can’t always slug their way to victories. There will be days such as Monday, when they hosted the Rockies on a chilly afternoon with the wind blowing in at Wrigley Field.

And though this wasn’t the kind of artful or overpowering offensive performance that typically has carried them, the Cubs scrapped for a 3-1 victory at the one-third mark of the season and put themselves on track for their best record since their 2016 World Series championship team.

The Cubs have won eight of their last 10 games, are 24-14 since a sluggish start and, at 33-21, are on pace to win 99 games. Confidence and fun are at an all-time high, even when the victories are more gritty than pretty.

‘‘We don’t have to just wait for a big homer,’’ right fielder Kyle Tucker said. ‘‘If we have one, great, I’ll take it. But we can get guys on, make it tough at-bats for the pitchers and . . . win multiple ways.’’

They beat the Rockies on the strength of starting pitcher Jameson Taillon delivering one of his best outings of the season, manufacturing runs and executing a brilliant sequence to steer out of trouble.

Taillon (4-3) cruised through the first 14 batters and held the Rockies to one run and four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in 6 1/3 innings. The first hit he allowed was a home run to Mickey Moniak with two outs in the fifth.

He hit a snag in the next inning, too.

With the Cubs ahead 2-1, Taillon yielded back-to-back singles and eventually faced runners on second and third with one out and Rockies No. 3 hitter Ryan McMahon up. McMahon hit a ground ball to second baseman Nico Hoerner, who fired a dart to the plate, and catcher Reese McGuire tagged out baserunner Jacob Stallings.

Taillon followed by freezing Michael Toglia with a 3-2 curveball for a strikeout to escape the jam. He screamed as he pumped his fist in celebration.

‘‘That was awesome,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘Nico, of course, knows the guy’s speed at third and has a slow heartbeat in that situation and makes a great throw to the plate. . . . It leads to the next hitter and gives me confidence for that.’’

Added Hoerner: ‘‘Awesome to see [Taillon] show some emotion in a big spot like that.’’

They’re throwing ‘‘awesome’’ around liberally in the Wrigley Field clubhouse these days, and why not? The Cubs rarely get held to three runs, and they still found a way to turn that into a victory.

Manager Craig Counsell talked about the Cubs’ offense being ‘‘dangerous’’ because of the number of players capable of contributing game-changing hits and making subtle contributions.

Ian Happ drew a leadoff walk in the first and scored on a groundout by Dansby Swanson. The bottom of the order chipped in, too, with Matt Shaw drawing a leadoff walk in the fifth and McGuire bunting him to second to set up an RBI single by Tucker. Shaw and McGuire got on base again in the seventh, with Shaw scoring on Tucker’s sacrifice fly.

It doesn’t have to be the Pete Crow-Armstrong show every day.

It helps, of course, that the Rockies are a disaster and stunningly still haven’t reached double digits in victories at 9-45. That record truly is hard to believe.

Sometimes ‘‘winning ugly’’ is a euphemism for playing poorly and surviving, but that’s not what this was. Regardless of the opponent, it was a solid, smart game by the Cubs, and that’s a sustainable way to win.

‘‘It’s part of playing at Wrigley,’’ Hoerner said. ‘‘You have days that are really high-scoring with the wind blowing out and days when no-doubt homers are blown back. It’s all part of it.’’