Thanks to a dominant effort from Kyle Hendricks and a strong day at the plate by Addison Russell, the Chicago Cubs got the second half of their season off to a roaring start with a 6-0 win over the Texas Rangers Friday afternoon.

Not only did the win put the Cubs seven and a half games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for first place in the NL Central, but it also helped them to achieve a pair of notable firsts.

According to Christopher Kamka of Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, this marks the first time in history (since 1933) that the Cubs have notched shutout victories in both their season opening game (which they did against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim) and in their first game after the All-Star break.

In the opener, Jake Arrieta outdueled Garrett Richards as the Cubs cruised to a 9-0 victory in Los Angeles.

By taking on the Rangers in their first game out of the break, the Cubs also made another unique bit of history, as they became the first Major League team to play both their season opener and their first post-break game against an interleague opponent.

That record doesn't date back quite as far, as full-time interleague play began during the 2013 season, but it's just another fun bit of history for a team that routinely likes to plaster their names all over the record books.