Charlie Blackmon busted his slump in a big way.

The Rockies’ veteran designated hitter ripped an RBI triple into the right fielder corner in the ninth inning to score pinch runner Garrett Hampson and produce the go-ahead run in a 3-1 victory over the Cubs on Saturday afternoon at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

“Now was a good time to get a hit,” Blackmon told AT&T SportsNet. “It was a good job by Buddy (manager Bud Black) of putting a speedy guy in right there.”

The Rockies had produced only four baserunners through the first eight innings until C.J. Cron coaxed a one-out walk out of reliever Adbert Alzolay. Hampson came in for Cron and scored easily on Blackmon’s fifth triple of the season.

Colorado scored a cushion run on Elias Diaz’s single up the middle to bring home Blackmon and make it 3-1.

Blackmon entered the game hitting .122 (5-for-41) in 11 games in September and was hitting just .217 (35-for-161) since the All-Star break. Yet Blackmon has remained cool in the clutch. Since July 1, he’s hit .390 (23-for-59) with runners in scoring position, the sixth-highest average in the majors.

“That is always the expectation with Charlie and I’ve seen it so often,” Black told reporters. “Team-wide, with the expectation of (Yonathan) Daza, it’s been a little bit of a struggle for a number of weeks. For most of our players, it’s been a struggle, so that was big from Charlie.”

Struggle, indeed. Before beating the Cubs, Colorado had lost 13 of its last 17 road games, averaging 2.2 runs per game with a .198 team batting average.

Black said that the players were thrilled for Blackmon.

“One of the great things I like about this team is the camaraderie and the unselfishness of the guys pulling for each other,” Black said. “The group pulls harder for Charlie than anybody because of what he means to the guys and the great example that he sets every day, about how to be a pro and how to go about the job.”

Closer Daniel Bard gave up a single to Yan Gomes in the ninth but was never in trouble and he recorded his 31st save in 34 opportunities.

Right-hander Jose Urena, commanding all of his pitches, gave the Rockies six strong innings, yielding just one run on seven hits. He struck out four and walked two.

“He got some big outs, with two outs, for sure,” Black said. “He got some groundballs and his stuff was good. I liked his fastball, and his changeup came into play today, which is really encouraging. I liked that a lot.”

Urena’s performance certainly gives the Rockies food for thought as they contemplate whether or not to attempt to bring the right-hander back for next season. Urena, 30, is scheduled to become a free agent.

“He’s trying to make an impression, like a lot of guys,” Black said. “We’ll have some decisions to make with our roster … But he’s doing everything he can to put himself out there in a good position.”

The Cubs clawed out a 1-0 lead in the fifth off Urena. Ian Happ stroked a one-out single to right-center, advanced to third on Alfonso Rivas’ single, and scored on P.J. Higgins’ infield single to third baseman Ryan McMahon. Higgins just barely beat McMahon’s throw to Cron at first. The Rockies staved off a second run when Cron gunned down Rivas at the plate as Rivas attempted to score from second.

Talented rookie Hayden Wesneski, making his third big-league appearance but his first big-league start, confounded the Rockies for seven innings. The right-hander gave up one run on just three hits, struck out seven, and didn’t walk anyone.

“He mixed it up pretty well,” Blackmon told AT&T SportsNet. “He had lots of movement — sliders, changeups. He didn’t follow any patterns.”

Between Daza’s soft one-out double in the first inning and McMahon’s two-out infield single in the sixth, Hayden retired 16 consecutive batters.

Colorado finally nicked Wesneski for a run in the seventh, with a little help from the baseball gods. Cron led off with a blooper down the right-field line that hopped into the stands for a ground-rule double and Cron moved to third on Blackmon’s groundout to first. Cron slid home with the tying run on Diaz’s high infield chopper that second baseman Zach McKinstry had trouble fielding.

The Rockies (63-82) and Cubs (62-83) will play the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon.

On Deck
Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-8, 6.12 ERA) at Cubs RHP Javier Assad (1-1, 2.53)
12:20 p.m. Sunday, Wrigley Field
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: 630 AM

Feltner is auditioning for a spot in the starting rotation next season and so far it’s been hit-and-miss for the rookie right-hander. He got the hook after just 2 2/3 innings in his last start against the Diamondbacks at Coors Field, giving up four runs on four hits with a career-high four walks. Since limiting the Giants to one run on two hits across six innings on Aug. 20, Feltner is 0-4 with a 6.87 ERA. He’s facing the Cubs for the first time in his career.

Assad will be making his first appearance against the Rockies. He earned his first career win last Monday at New York, limiting the Mets to one earned run over six innings. The six innings were a career-high, as were his six strikeouts. He allowed five hits. Assad made his major league debut on Aug. 23 when he started and tossed four scoreless innings at Wrigley Field against the Cardinals. In his next start, he pitched five more scoreless innings in Toronto.

Trending: With his RBI triple in the ninth inning Saturday, Charlie Blackmon recorded his 10th game-winning RBI of the season. His 35 RBIs on the road are the most for any Rockies player.

At Issue: Second baseman Brendan Rodgers remains in a funk and he did not play Saturday. He’s hit 5-for-59 (.085) over his last 16 games since Aug. 25, and that includes an 0-for-19 stretch from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5.

Pitching probables:
Monday: Giants RHP Jakob Junis (4-6, 4.15) at Rockies RHP Chad Kuhl (6-9, 5.33), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Tuesday: Giants LHP Carlos Rodon (13-8, 2.84) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (9-9, 4.43), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM