DC Power Football Club, a Washington-based women’s team set to begin play this summer in the United Soccer League Super League, announced Reese as the first member of its ownership group on Tuesday.

4 things we learned from the Chicago Sky’s first 2 games, including what Angel Reese needs to work on

“I’ve always wanted to impact sports, not just women’s basketball,” Reese said Tuesday. “I’ve always said I wanted to have part ownership of something. Obviously, basketball is my main thing, but growing up in the DMV area, I’ve loved sports, always, so being able to be a part of the Power FC soccer (team) is going to be so cool. I’m invested in soccer. A lot of my friends play soccer as well. I’m super excited for this partnership, and a lot of young black women don’t have these opportunities.”

Reese, who grew up near Baltimore in Randallstown, Maryland, said talks to join the ownership group started around the time she decided to leave LSU for the WNBA. A three-time All-American, Reese led LSU to the 2023 NCAA championship and this year’s Elite Eight, after two seasons at Maryland.

Power FC is one of eight teams set to play in the USL Super League’s inaugural season, which opens in August. Eight more teams are scheduled to join in 2025 or later, pending the completion of stadium projects, according to the league’s website.

“I know a lot more women are going to start owning more things,” Reese said. “Hopefully, one day I can own my own team. That’s what I’m looking forward to. I want to own a WNBA team as well.”

Nearly a year after going into cardiac arrest during a workout, he is close to achieving his goal of playing in the NBA just like his famous father.

“It’s just a great thing to happen to me, in terms of just being grateful for everything,” James said at the NBA draft combine. “I put in the work and stuff like that to get back, so I feel like I’ve earned the opportunity. I’m extremely grateful for everything that’s been given to me.”

James played in a scrimmage on Tuesday after participating in drills the previous day, when he had his vertical leap measured at 40 1/2 inches and his height — without shoes — at 6-foot-1 1/2 despite being listed by Southern California as 6-4. He also answered questions from reporters, something he didn’t do last season.

The son of NBA career scoring leader LeBron James, Bronny James was one of the nation’s top prospects when he decided to stay near home and committed to USC last May out of Sierra Canyon School in nearby Chatsworth. But things took an unexpected turn last summer.

James went into cardiac arrest because of a congenital heart defect during a basketball workout at USC in late July and needed surgery. He was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and later seen by doctors at the Mayo Clinic and Atlantic Health-Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey.

“It was a tough time, for sure,” he said. “All this work that I put in, it just really built me into someone that would never give up. It paid off because I put in the work after that situation, and I’m back to where I want to be.”

James said the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to play again was discussed. Even now, the fear from the cardiac arrest “is still lingering.”

“I feel like my parents were a big factor believing in me and giving me the love and affection that I needed at that time,” he said. “I still think about everything that could happen. I just love the game so much that it overpowers it.”

James missed the first month of the season. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 25 games for the Trojans.

“That would set anybody back, what he went through,” said Isaiah Collier, a projected first-round pick after starring as a freshman at USC. “Y’all gonna see what he’s really capable of real soon. I feel like Bronny’s a great player. He definitely deserves to be here. He’s gonna be fine.”

USC went 15-18 overall and 8-12 in the Pac-12 during a season marked by injuries to several players. The Trojans missed the NCAA Tournament after three straight appearances, and coach Andy Enfield left to take the job at SMU.

James declared for the draft and entered the transfer portal on April 5, hours before USC introduced Eric Musselman as its new coach. He has until later this month to decide if he wants to turn pro or play at least another year in college.

The only time James addressed the media last season was following his first game, when he appeared for less than a minute to thank the doctors, athletic trainers and support system that helped him return to play. He did not take questions that day and — despite numerous requests — never granted any interviews. James said he was just following his advisors’ advice.

LeBron James, his wife and daughter were frequent spectators at USC games. The elder James has said repeatedly he would like to team with his son. The four-time MVP and four-time NBA champion just completed his 21st season and could become a free agent if he opts out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. But James also said following a season-ending loss to Denver that he hasn’t “given much thought lately” to playing alongside his son.

“The kid has to do what he wants to do — and I don’t want to say kid no more, young man has to decide what he wants to do. I just think the fact that we’re even having the conversation is pretty cool,” he said at the time.

Bronny James said his goal is to get to the NBA — not necessarily play on the same team as LeBron.

“My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself and, of course, get to the NBA,” he said. “I never thought about playing with my dad. But of course, he’s brought it up a couple times.”

Bronny James dismissed the idea that a team might draft him as a way to lure his father.

“This is a serious business,” he said. “I don’t feel like there would be a thought of ‘I’m just drafting this kid just because I’m gonna get his dad.’ I don’t think a GM would really allow that. I think I’ve put in the work and I’ll get drafted because of not only the player but the person that I am.”

The Chicago Bulls, who entered with just a 2% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 9.4% chance to move into the top four, ended up with the No. 11 spot. Last year, the Bulls traded into the first round to select Julian Phillips with the No. 35 pick.

The Hawks hit the jackpot despite just 3% odds after finishing 10th in the Eastern Conference at 36-46. They dropped their final six regular-season games and lost to the Bulls in the first round of the play-in tournament.

“It was a shock,” said general manager Landry Fields, who grinned ear to ear when deputy commissioner Mark Tatum announced the Hawks as the winners. “When I first saw that it wasn’t us between 10 and 12, that launched us into the top four. I was like, all right, we’ve got a real shot at this thing. A bit of surprise, but a lot of excitement.”

The Hawks haven’t won a postseason series since a surprising run to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021. They got knocked out in the first round in 2022 and 2023.

Atlanta has some big decisions to make this offseason, including whether to break up its backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. General manager Landry Fields can build with the No. 1 pick, though it’s not clear who will be taken first after Victor Wembanyama was the obvious choice for San Antonio last year.

The Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons rounded out the top five. The draft is June 26-27 in Brooklyn.

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Washington and Detroit had the best chances to land the top pick at 14%. Only four teams have won the lottery with slimmer odds than Atlanta, with the biggest longshot being Orlando at 1.52% in 1993. The Magic orchestrated a blockbuster draft night trade with Golden State, sending the rights to Chris Webber to the Warriors for the rights to Penny Hardaway along with three future first-round picks.

San Antonio landed a generational player last year in Wembanyama. The franchise that previously took David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick got its next great big man, and all the Frenchman did was turn in one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history.

The No. 1 pick could once again come from France, whether it’s center Alex Sarr or sharp-shooting forward Zaccharie Risacher, but that’s far from a certainty. UConn guard Stephon Castle and Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham are both expected to be off the board within the first few selections.

The 7-foot-1, 224-pound Sarr has the size and mobility that teams crave and can defend the perimeter when he’s not blocking shots down low. The 19-year-old from Toulouse is known for his explosiveness around the rim, though he could use some more muscle. It would help, too, if he developed into a more reliable 3-point shooter.

Sarr, whose brother Olivier plays for the Oklahoma City, spent this past season in Australia’s National Basketball League.

Risacher, who was born in Spain and grew up in France, is known as a dynamic, albeit streaky shooter for JL Bourg, whether he’s popping off screens or pulling up for 3-pointers. He often guards the other team’s best player.

Castle joined Andre Drummond in 2012 as UConn’s only one-and-done players when he declared for the draft in April after the Huskies’ latest NCAA championship run. The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists while often drawing the defensive assignment to shut down the opposition’s top perimeter player. He scored 21 in UConn’s Final Four win over Alabama and had 15 points in the championship game against Purdue.

Sheppard and Dillingham both came off the bench in their lone college seasons.

Sheppard, who was voted the Southeastern Conference’s top freshman by coaches after leading the league in steals, was one of the league’s best playmakers and perimeter shooters. He was Kentucky’s No. 3 scorer at 12.5 points per contest and averaged an SEC-best 2.5 steals that ranked eighth nationally, despite starting just five of 33 games. He also averaged 4.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and made 52% of his 3-point attempts.

Dillingham was voted the SEC’s top sixth man after averaging 15.2 and 3.9 assists. Kentucky tied for second in the conference and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, only to get knocked out by Oakland in the round of 64. Coach John Calipari then left after 15 years for Arkansas.

Northwestern plans to install a temporary structure at the soccer and lacrosse field that will remain in place through the 2025 season. The school said the capacity is still to be determined, though it will be considerably lower than at the old Ryan Field and the new stadium.

The football team has nonconference home games next season against Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 31, Duke on Sept. 7 and Eastern Illinois on Sept. 14. In Big Ten play, the Wildcats are scheduled to host Indiana (Oct. 5), Wisconsin (Oct. 19), Ohio State (Nov. 16) and Illinois (Nov. 30).

Northwestern is in discussions with other Chicago-area stadiums to host games. The Wildcats have played at Wrigley Field three times since 2010, including a loss to Iowa last year on a last-second field goal.

“I am thrilled that we could make this happen,” Northwestern president Michael Schill said. “It’s truly a win for our community. In addition to creating a wonderful fan experience in the lead-up to the opening of Ryan Field, hosting games on campus will reduce the travel burdens for our student-athletes and fans and will make games much more accessible. We also are pleased to keep the economic benefits of football gamedays in Evanston.”

The new Ryan Field is part of a $480 million donation from the family of Patrick and Shirley Ryan that was the largest in school history. Some of that money is also funding academic ventures.

The school has said the stadium would seat 35,000, down more than 12,000 from the current Ryan Field, and feature a canopy designed to keep noise and light focused on the field. It would include cutting-edge technology and scoreboards, as well as concessions with food from local restaurants, and would achieve Gold LEED certification.

He was right every time, and it sure felt good.

Krejci made all six of his field-goal attempts — all from 3-point range — and set career highs with 18 points and the six 3-pointers as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls 113-101 on Monday night at the United Center in a matchup between potential play-in tournament opponents.

Krejci surpassed his previous highs of 16 points and four 3s, helping the Hawks win for the fifth time in six games. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 20 points.

“It’s just a confidence,” Krejci said. “You knock down a couple. The team was playing well. I think the reason why we shot the ball well today was we just were moving the ball. When you get a 3 off of three passes or a kickout or something like that, it always feels better than a one-pass 3.”

Dejounte Murray scored 17 points and Clint Capela added 15 points and 11 rebounds as the 10th-place Hawks moved within a half-game of the ninth-place Bulls in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls own the head-to-head tiebreaker after taking two of three from the Hawks and would host a play-in game if the teams finish tied.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 31 points, Coby White scored 22, Ayo Dosunmu added 15 points and Andre Drummond had 13 points and 18 rebounds.

“As bad as it feels now, I don’t think we played that bad,” DeRozan said.

Bogdanovic made 6 of 7 shots, including a pair of 3s. The hot-shooting Hawks went 19 of 40 beyond the arc while the Bulls made just 7 of 28.

Bogdanovic also had to be separated from coach Quin Snyder during a timeout late in the game. Bogdanovic slammed a water bottle and kept pointing at his chest as he rose from his seat and got in Snyder’s face.

The two brushed it off, with Snyder saying, “Bogey was terrific, and he and I are in a great place — better than good.” Bogdanovic called it nothing more than a “basketball argument” and insisted they are on good terms.

“Quin is my guy, for sure,” he said. “He was pushing me through the whole year. We have little fights. It’s normal that it happens. It’s sad that it happened on a game and on TV, so now that’s highlighted. But it’s just part of a game that we play. In our world, that’s kind of normal.”

The Hawks led by 17 late in the third quarter and never were seriously threatened after that.

Krejci, a third-year pro from the Czech Republic, almost matched his career scoring high in the first half. He made all five shots, and his 3 just before the halftime buzzer gave the Hawks a 61-53 lead.

Murray scored 11 in the half and made three 3s, and the Hawks were 14 of 26 on 3-pointers through the first two quarters.

The Bulls’ Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery) was in Chicago, and Zach LaVine (right foot surgery) and Patrick Williams (left foot surgery) were flying in to continue their rehab. Javonte Green missed the game to tend to a family matter. His 10-day contract was also set to expire.

Hawks guard AJ Griffin (right high ankle sprain) is participating in individual basketball activities and will be evaluated in seven to 10 days. Forward Mouhamed Gueye (sprained right UCL) is going through full-contact workouts, and center Onyeka Okongwu (sprained left big toe) has resumed individual activities. He will be evaluated in seven to 10 days.

The opportunity to restore a once-proud program as DePaul’s new men’s basketball coach was one he couldn’t pass up. And he insisted he is ready for the challenge.

“We’ve got a great opportunity,” Holtmann said. “We came here as a family because we really do believe in what this place can be.”

The 52-year-old Holtmann was introduced Monday at a news conference at Wintrust Arena after being hired last week, a month after Ohio State fired him. He comes with a 251-171 record and seven NCAA Tournament appearances in 13 seasons at Gardner-Webb, Butler and Ohio State.

Holtmann led Butler to the tournament in each of his three years there and was widely viewed as a rising star in the coaching ranks when he took the Ohio State job in 2017 after Thad Matta stepped down because of health reasons. Holtmann led the Buckeyes to a 137-86 record and four NCAA appearances.

He was Coach of the Year in the Big East and Big Ten. But he’s taking on a big task.

DePaul hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in 20 years and just finished one of the worst seasons in Big East history. The Blue Demons went 3-29 overall and became the first team to go 0-20 in conference play. Former coach Tony Stubblefield was fired in January after two-plus seasons.

DePaul has lost 34 of 35 Big East games, counting the conference tournament. Stubblefield was 28-54 overall and 9-38 in the conference.

Athletic director DeWayne Peevy said he had his eyes on Holtmann when Peevy worked in Kentucky’s athletic department before getting hired by DePaul in August 2020. One of five finalists, Holtmann is the second men’s basketball coach hired by Peevy.

“I don’t feel any pressure any more than what I put on myself and the opportunity to build a program,” Peevy said. “I came here from Kentucky to win. You take the steps forward, you learn lessons and you push forward. I think if you want to be a true leader, you have to get people around you that can help you accomplish something big.”

Peevy joked that “Ohio State just saved me a buyout” by firing Holtmann.

“When he was let go, I wasn’t looking at it as a deterrent for me,” Peevy said. “OK, this got a lot easier. I gave him some time. I didn’t reach out to him right away, want to be respectful. But I did contact his agent to tell him that this doesn’t matter to me, that I’m very interested.”

The Blue Demons last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2004. They have finished with a losing record in Big East play in all but one season since entering the conference in 2005 and wound up last this season for the 12th time in 16 years.

It’s a far cry from the days when the “Little School Under the L” made annual NCAA appearances and ruled winters in Chicago under Hall of Fame coach Ray Meyer and his son Joey.

Holtmann got a bird’s eye view of the challenges DePaul faced when he was at Butler. But the situation isn’t the same.

DePaul has gone from playing at Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont to a sparkling home at Wintrust Arena in Chicago’s South Loop, seven miles from the school’s main campus. A new practice facility for the men’s and women’s basketball teams is in the works. And there’s a fertile recruiting ground in the school’s backyard.

“I always felt like it could be a program that could have real sustained success,” Holtmann said. “And I would ask people maybe who knew the situation better than me, ‘Hey, explain this to me.’

“I know there are some challenges. … But I think it’s in a place right now, given their commitments to a practice facility, what they have done with this place and just the passion and the hunger right now — I think it’s the right time for our family to be here.”

The Bulls made it look easy against the team with the NBA’s worst record, with Dosunmu and Vučević setting the tone. They led by 22 at halftime and never were threatened after the break.

Dosunmu, whose previous high was 29 points in a win last month in Atlanta, made four 3-pointers. The third-year pro matched a season best with nine assists. Dosunmu said he keeps a journal tracking his progress. And there’s a noticeable difference from a year ago.

“I wrote down where I was at last year because I knew I wasn’t the player I wanted to be,” said Dosunmu, a Chicago native who played at Illinois. “I understood that in order to get better, it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of work. I pretty much (tried) to write it down just so at a time like now, I could look back a year and say ‘OK, this is where I was at.’ ”

Coach Billy Donovan said Dosunmu was a constant presence at the team’s practice facility in the offseason. And the work is paying off.

“I do think there’s even much more room for improvement for him,” Donovan said. “I think he had to solve some things for himself, just talking to him a little bit about the way he was being guarded. … It’s really hard to play to your strengths — which for him is out in transition in the open floor, attacking the paint — if you’re not a threat ever to shoot.”

Alex Caruso scored 16. DeMar DeRozan added 13 points — despite taking just seven shots — and six assists. The Bulls shot 57.6% and dominated the Wizards in the paint 68-46.

The Wizards fell to 4-20 under interim coach Brian Keefe with their third straight loss and 19th in 21 games.

“They were able to get the ball in the paint, score in the paint, offensive rebound in the paint,” Keefe said. “We didn’t probably do enough of resistance early in the game. But then as the game grew, our fight actually got better. So I was pleased with that.”

Corey Kispert led the Wizards with 16 points, and Bilal Coulibaly scored 15.

The Bulls didn’t wait too long to put this one away, outscoring the Wizards 67-45 in the first half behind 18 points each from Vučević and Dosunmu.

Vučević also grabbed seven rebounds, and Caruso added 11 points.

The Wizards took a brief 19-16 lead after Justin Champagnie hit a 3 with four minutes left in the first quarter, but the Bulls responded by burying the Wizards.

Dosunmu drove for a finger-roll layup and Caruso made a 3, sparking a 17-3 run that stretched into the second. The lead reached 24 on a hook by Vucevic making it 63-39 with just over two minutes remaining in the half.

The Bulls were without one of their top players again with guard Coby White missing his second consecutive game because of a strained right hip. Donovan said the team hopes to have him back within the next week.

White was hurt when the Pacers’ Pascal Siakam blocked his layup and landed on him near the end of regulation in the Bulls’ overtime road win Wednesday.

“I was like half joking,” Norton said. “But I was like what are we adding women’s bowling for? And he said, you know, because we can get like a roster number of 10 to 12. And I said … I’d get 40 women’s wrestlers.”

Norton now oversees one of the nation’s most successful programs in a growing sport poised for NCAA championship recognition as the women’s wrestling coach at North Central College, a Division III school in the Chicago suburbs.

The program has ballooned in its five years from nine wrestlers to 51 from 23 states stretching from the East Coast to Alaska.

Four from North Central have combined to capture six national titles since the program’s inception, and six are scheduled to compete next month in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Penn State. The Cardinals finished second to Iowa in the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships after taking the top prize last year.

With programs from all divisions going against each other, North Central can say it’s one of the best, period, and not just in Division III. That could change in the coming years, with participation increasing and the potential championship recognition by the NCAA.

The number of NCAA and NAIA schools as well as junior colleges with programs has leaped from 62 to 144 the past five years with individual participation growing from 935 to 2,641, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association. The NCAA has seen about a threefold growth in that span, from 27 teams to 78 and 398 participants to 1,261 competing across all divisions.

It is clear what is feeding the boom: Girls’ wrestling has become the fastest-growing high school sport in the country.

There were just a handful of programs when women’s college wrestling began in the 1990s.

“We go to tournaments,” said Maddie Avila, a national champion at 101 pounds in 2023. “We see so many younger wrestlers there and it’s so awesome and also motivating to just see the sport growing as a whole.”

There still is room to grow.

Opportunities in Division I remain scarce, with only four programs and one from a power conference: Iowa, which started competition this season. The other three are Lindenwood (Mo.), Presbyterian College and Sacred Heart.

With only a handful of options for recruits, North Central can attract the best prospects. But the landscape could change if more D-I and D-II schools — with scholarships to offer — start programs and women’s wrestling becomes an NCAA championship sport.

In February, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics recommended Divisions I, II and III sponsor legislation to create a women’s championship.

Members are expected to vote at the NCAA Convention in January. If it passes, the first championship could be in 2026. Wrestling would join rowing (1996), ice hockey (2000), water polo (2000), bowling (2003) and beach volleyball (2015) as the sixth to gain championship status through the Emerging Sports for Women program.

“We’re just enjoying this moment in time knowing that it won’t last forever,” said Miller, who wrestled and played football at North Central in the 1980s and coached both sports at his alma mater.

If the NCAA adds enough teams to split into divisions, Norton is prepared to have his program settle in as a D-III powerhouse. But for now?

“I was selling dreams in 2019,” said Norton, who also assists the men’s team. “Right now I’m selling this experience. Come and be on the No. 1 team in the country.”

In a short period, a long line of All-Americans have passed through the steamy gym on the second floor of a fieldhouse built in 1930.

The Cardinals warm up by dividing into teams for games of Olympic-style handball that resemble football at times. Players drag each other to the mat as they try to prevent one another from tossing the ball into garbage pails serving as goals at each end of the gym.

They sweat through drills as Corey Hart’s 1980s hit “Sunglasses At Night” blares on an endless loop on a recent afternoon. Other days, the music is more current.

Norton, who wrestled at North Central just over a decade ago, cast a wide net when he started the women’s program, particularly since the Illinois High School Association didn’t sponsor girls wrestling until the 2021-22 academic year. It meant flying in recruits from all over the country.

Yelena Makoyed was hanging with friends at church the night she got the call from Norton. She didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway.

“Joe didn’t have much to brag about,” said Makoyed, a three-time national champion at 170 pounds from the Sacramento area. “He was just starting his program. But, man, I think it was just the energy, and he just caught me at a good time. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.”

Amanda Martinez got a similar feeling from Norton and assistant Zach Cook when she was transferring to North Central. Now an assistant coach for the Cardinals, she is scheduled to compete at the Olympic trials.

“They were starting a program because they wanted to — vs. a lot of schools that had to have a women’s program, you know?” she said.

Karaban nailed five 3-pointers — one shy of his career-high — after scoring 25 in a romp at Georgetown last week, and the Huskies (23-2, 13-1 Big East) wasted little time burying the Blue Demons (3-21, 0-13 Big East). They took control in the opening minutes and never looked back. UConn faces a stiffer test when it hosts No. 4 Marquette on Saturday.

Stephon Castle had 15 points and six assists for UConn and Cam Spencer added 14 points five rebounds and five assists.

Jaden Henley scored 15 for DePaul. But the Blue Demons lost their 12th straight game and sixth since interim coach Matt Brady took over for the fired Tony Stubblefield.

UConn showed why it’s at the top of the AP poll for the fifth week in a row, grabbing a 52-29 halftime lead.

They were up 22-7 after Spencer nailed a 3 and Jaylin Stewart broke for a layup just over eight minutes into the game. And with a 31-18 lead, they put this one away with a 13-2 run.

Karaban started it when he made a jumper with 7:15 left in the half. Hassan Diarra went the distance for a layup following a steal to make it a 20-point game. Spencer pulled up for a jumper in the lane, and Tristen Newton scored on a put-back, making it 44-20 with just over four minutes left in the half.

Big picture

UConn: The Huskies moved a step closer to their first Big East regular-season championship since the 2005-06 season, when they tied Villanova. The Huskies lead Marquette by 2 1/2 games with six remaining.

DePaul: The Blue Demons never really were in this one and fell to 1-19 against UConn.

Up next

UConn: The showdown with Marquette in Hartford on Saturday is the first of two games between the teams. UConn also visits the Golden Eagles on March 6.

DePaul: The Blue Demons will try again for their first conference win when they visit Providence on Saturday.

Charlie Blackmon hit a tiebreaking triple and scored in a two-run ninth, and the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Blackmon came in to the game in a 5-for-41 slump. But the four-time All-Star delivered in a big spot.

He drove in pinch runner Garrett Hampson with a triple to the right-field corner against Adbert Alzolay (0-1) after C.J. Cron walked with one out. He scored on an Elias Díaz single, making it 3-1, and the Rockies came away with the win despite a dominant outing by Cubs rookie Hayden Wesneski in his first major-league start.

“There’s been some ups and downs,” Blackmon said. “I feel like I’ve had some bad breaks.”

Jose Ureña threw six solid innings, and the Rockies won for just the fifth time time in their last 18 road games. They are a big-league-worst 23-48 away from home.

The Rockies had some fun before the game, sending mostly rookies in full uniform to the nearby Dunkin’ Donuts. Blackmon said he got a “pretty classic” glazed donut and black coffee.

“I jokingly said, ‘Maybe we’ll have to do it again tomorrow,’ ” Blackmon said. “There’s a lot of guys who did not really think that was a good idea. We probably won’t do it tomorrow.”

Ureña allowed one run and seven hits. The right-hander, who signed a minor-league deal in May after being released by the Milwaukee Brewers, has mostly struggled since being called up in July. But he has strung together back-to-back solid outings.

“He feels really comfortable here after a few months with this group,” manager Bud Black said. “He’s finally settling in.”

Dinelson Lamet and Carlos Estévez (4-4) each worked an inning.

Daniel Bard came on in the ninth for his 31st save in 34 chances. He gave up a one-out single to pinch hitter Yan Gomes before retiring Zach McKinstry on a line drive and Ian Happ on a groundout.

The Cubs had won four straight and were eyeing their second straight sweep after taking three at the NL East-leading New York Mets.

Rookie dominates

Wesneski, 24, tossed seven innings, allowing one run and three hits. The right-hander struck out seven and did not walk a batter in his third big-league appearance.

“Great outing for Hayden,” manager David Ross said. “Nice, efficient. Worked quick. Similar to Stro (Marcus Stroman) yesterday. The only hits he gave up other than that first one was there wasn’t a whole lot of hard contact.”

Alzolay struck out all three in the eighth before running into trouble in the ninth. The right-hander had been sidelined all season because of a strained right shoulder.

Transactions

The Cubs reinstated Alzolay from the 60-day injured list and placed outfielder Seiya Suzuki on the paternity list. They also designated infielder Frank Schwindel and left-handed pitcher Sean Newcomb for assignment and selected infielder Esteban Quíroz’s contract from Triple-A Iowa.

Trainer’s room

Rockies: Black said Kris Bryant (plantar fasciitis in left foot) is “getting more confidence” each day. Bryant — out since July 31 — started running Friday and has been hitting in the cage and working out. “The progress has been pretty good the last week or so,” Black said.

Cubs: An MRI on SS Nico Hoerner (mild to moderate triceps strain) showed more damage than anticipated, though the Cubs have not ruled him out for the remainder of the season, Ross said. “He wants to get back,” Ross said. “He’s pretty disappointed with the news, but I don’t think he has anything left to prove to us this year.” Hoerner had the MRI on Thursday. He has not played since Sunday. … LHP Steven Brault (strained left shoulder strain) is likely headed for a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa after his most recent bullpen session went well. … 2B Nick Madrigal (strained right groin) is progressing with agility and strength work.