German Marquez rebounded and Ryan McMahon homered.

But the “Friendly Confines” were decided unfriendly for the road-challenged Rockies in a 2-1 loss to the Cubs on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Cubs right-hander Marquez Stroman, who was winless at home entering Friday’s game, took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before McMahon hit a two-out solo homer to center.

“(Marquez) threw well because he had to,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters in Chicago. “Their guy was really good. It was a pitcher’s duel, obviously, even in good conditions to hit. German settled in with a good breaking ball — the slider and the curve — and kept the ball down. Just a couple of mistakes.”

Stroman, who entered the game 0-5 with a 7.11 ERA at Wrigley — the highest home ERA in the majors for pitchers with at least nine starts — dominated the Rockies. He pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, striking out five and walking two.

“He had good movement on all of his pitches,” Black told reporters. “I think the fastball had life to it, with exceptional movement, which he has when he’s on.”

McMahon, who’s started to hit with more power of late, launched Stroman’s 0-1, 93 mph sinker, 433 feet to center for his 17th homer of the season. The third baseman has hit safely in six of his last seven starts with three multi-hit games and four home runs.

Marquez, coming off a poor start against Arizona at Coors Field where he gave up a season-high nine runs over just four innings, pitched seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and our strikeouts. Marquez gave up one run in the first on a leadoff triple to Zach McKinstry, followed by an RBI single by Ian Happ. McKinstry’s solo home run in the fifth turned out to be the difference in the game.

“My job was to keep the ball down, this is a small ballpark,” Marquez told AT&t SportsNet. “I think I just missed a couple of pitches, but I feel good about my whole outing.”

The Rockies slid to 22-48 on the road, a major-league worst .314 winning percentage that puts them on pace to finish the season with 25 wins away from Coors Field.

Bryant update. Left-fielder Kris Bryant, who’s been on the injured list since Aug. 1 as he battles plantar fasciitis in his left foot, said he’s making progress, but there is no still timetable for his return. He’s played in just 42 games and the Rockies have just 18 games remaining in their season.

“I feel much better than I have,” Bryant told reporters prior to Friday’s game. “I got the PRP (platelet-rich plasma) shot a couple of weeks ago and I never thought it would work as good as it has, so that’s a good feeling.

“I’m finally able to do some baseball stuff. I ran for the first time today and it felt good so, hopefully, we’re kind of moving in the right direction.”

Bryant, who played the first six-plus seasons of his career with the Cubs, was asked by Chicago media about his injury-filled season after signing a seven-year, $182 million contract with Colorado. He also was asked by members of the media from Chicago about living up to the seven-year, $182 million deal he signed in the offseason to join the Rockies.

“I feel like I generally handle things pretty well,” Bryant said, according to Rox Pile. “You ask me that question while we’re at a place where we are today. I think playing here helped me handle certain expectations and pressures that this game brings.”

Bryant said that 2023 has certainly been challenging.

“It’s been a weird year for me, starting all the way back in November with things shut down (during the lockout) and then finding a team real quick, then being hurt and having twins,” he said. “Just a lot of life changes you know, but everybody here has been unbelievably supportive and I’ve established some really good relationships here. It’s going to help me in the future because I’m going to be here a while.”

Davis called up. Right-hander Noah Davis was recalled from Double-A Hartford Friday, taking the roster spot left vacant when the Rockies released veteran right-hander Jhoulys Chacin on Thursday.

Davis was 8-8 with a 5.54 ERA over 26 starts for the Yard Goats this season. He was obtained from the Reds during last year’s trade deadline. He has not made his big league debut yet.

Black told MLB.com that Davis, 25, will be used out of the bullpen for the rest of this season but will compete for a rotation spot in spring training. Davis, however, is expected to begin the 2023 season at Triple-A Albuquerque.

On Deck
Rockies RHP Jose Urena (3-6, 5.81 ERA) at RHP Hayden Wesneski (1-1, 3.12)
12:20 p.m. Saturday, Wrigley Field
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

Urena, in charge of his breaking ball for the first time in several starts, is coming off a solid outing against Arizona at Coors Field, allowing just one run across 5 1/3 innings, limiting the Diamondbacks to five hits while striking out five and walking two. He last faced the Cubs on April 9 as a reliever for the Brewers, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings, though he did walk three. In eight career games (seven starts) vs. Chicago, he’s 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA.

Hayden, who made his big-league debut Sept. 6, will be facing the Rockies for the first time. He’s coming off a loss vs. San Francisco on Sunday when he gave up three runs on four hits (two home runs) in 3 2/3 innings. In his debut against Cincinnati, he became the first reliever in major league history (since 1901) to debut with at least five scoreless innings, two hits or less surrendered and eight strikeouts. He was traded to the Cubs from the Yankees on Aug. 1 for right-hander Scott Effross.

Trending:  Daniel Bard notched his 30th save of the season Wednesday against the White Sox. At age 37 years and 81 days old, Bard became the fourth-oldest player in major league history to reach 30 saves in a season for the first time.

At Issue: Ryan McMahon’s solo home run on Friday was just the 41st homer hit by the Rockies on the road this season, by far the fewest road homers in the majors. Detroit has hit 47.

Pitching probables:
Sunday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-8, 6.12) at Cubs RHP Javier Assad (1-1, 2.53), 12:20 p.m., ATTRM
Monday: Giants RHP Jakob Junis (4-6, 4.15) at Rockies RHP Chad Kuhl (6-9, 5.33), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM