On a brisk Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Shota Imanaga delivered a masterclass in pitching, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 shutout over the Arizona Diamondbacks while putting an end to Ildemaro Vargas' impressive 27-game hitting streak.
Imanaga, the Cubs' crafty left-hander, worked seven innings of four-hit ball, striking out five and walking just one on 87 pitches. It was his second scoreless outing of six or more innings this season, and Ben Brown sealed the deal by retiring all six batters he faced for his first career save.
The real story, however, revolved around Vargas. The Diamondbacks infielder had been on a tear, hitting safely in 24 consecutive games to start the season and carrying over a three-game streak from last year. But on this day, he went 0-for-4, grounding out against Brown in his final at-bat as Arizona dropped its third straight game.
Ian Happ provided all the offense Chicago needed, and then some. Leading off the second inning, he crushed a 399-foot home run into a stiff breeze off Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson (1-3) for his eighth homer of the season. But Happ wasn't done—he added a double in the sixth and a triple in the eighth, becoming the only player on either side with multiple hits. His on-base streak now sits at 23 games, the longest active run in the majors.
Seiya Suzuki drove in Happ with a sacrifice fly off Juan Morillo in the eighth to provide the final margin. Nelson pitched well in defeat, allowing just one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings.
The win extended Chicago's home winning streak to 10 games at Wrigley Field, their longest such run since 2008 when they won 14 straight from May 18 to June 22. For Cubs fans, the atmosphere at the historic ballpark is starting to feel like those glory days again.
In other team news, second baseman Nico Hoerner sat out with neck tightness after leaving Friday's game and is considered day-to-day. The Cubs will look to keep their momentum going Sunday when they send left-hander Matthew Boyd (1-1, 7.00 ERA) to the mound against Arizona's Merrill Kelly (1-2, 9.20 ERA).