BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — Coming off two dramatic, come-from-behind wins that sealed a series victory in Cincinnati, the Cubs looked to continue that momentum into the final homestand of May.

The Cubs’ 3-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday ensured that the NL Central leaders kept rolling, and they’re now 15-8 this month.

Here are three takeaways as the Cubs (33-21) downed the MLB-worst Rockies (9-45) in the series opener at Wrigley Field.

Jamo’s gem

The home run ball has hurt Jameson Taillon this month, with the Cubs right-hander allowing nine across his four starts in May entering Monday.

With the wind blowing in on a chilly Memorial Day at Wrigley, Taillon was cruising through the Rockies’ lineup until the fifth inning, when Colorado outfielder Mickey Moniak crushed a two-out solo homer to the right-field bleachers. 

That was the only damage Taillon sustained in the fifth. In the sixth, he allowed two consecutive singles to begin the inning, and a sacrifice bunt set up two men in scoring position with one out for the Rockies. 

But Taillon and his defense made quick work of Colorado from that point. On a grounder to second, Nico Hoerner nabbed Jacob Stallings at home plate for the second out of the inning. Taillon then froze Michael Toglia with a curveball on the outside corner to end a seven-pitch at-bat and the inning.

The Cubs had Caleb Thielbar warming up in the sixth to relieve Taillon, but the latter wasn’t done yet. Taillon came back out for the seventh to strike out Brenton Doyle before finally giving way to Thielbar.

A new home at third

Matt Shaw is looking more and more like the Cubs’ mainstay at third base. 

Since coming back up from Triple-A Iowa last week, Shaw has looked more well-rounded than ever, and it’s showing both at the plate and on defense.

Shaw’s leadoff walk in the fifth kick-started the Cubs’ go-ahead rally, as he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Reese McGuire and came around to score on Kyle Tucker’s single. Shaw has slashed .360/.385/.560 (.945 OPS) with five doubles and two RBI since his May 19 call-up.

Shaw’s steady presence at the hot corner also has been a hot topic. While the 23-year-old rookie made three errors in his first nine games with the Cubs, he has been completely clean in the field in his first seven games back in the big leagues.

Shaw has made a few eye-catching defensive plays along the way, including in the fifth inning Monday, when he backhanded a hard grounder hit down the third base line and made a strong, off-balance throw across his body from deep in the hole to nab the runner at first.

It somewhat mirrored an incredible play he made Saturday in Cincinnati, when he fired a strike to first base for the out as he slipped and fell to the ground.

King Tuck’s run factory

Less than one week after Tucker provided both of the Cubs’ runs in a 2-1 win over the Marlins, he had a similar effect on the game Monday, claiming responsibility for two of Chicago’s three runs.

Tucker broke the 1-1 deadlock in the fifth inning with a clutch, two-out RBI single.

Tucker’s sacrifice fly in the seventh gave the Cubs some insurance to make it 3-1 on a day when it seemed runs were hard to come by.

Tucker has kicked the slump that affected him earlier in the month, as he’s slashing .379/.424/.586 (1.010 OPS) over his last seven games, with two homers and six RBI.

The Cubs will turn to rookie Cade Horton (2-0, 4.40 ERA) in Tuesday’s 7:05 p.m. meeting with the Rockies, who will start veteran righty Germán Márquez (1-7, 7.66). Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. on Marquee Sports Network, followed by the game broadcast.