The Chicago Cubs got seven innings of shutout work by Alec Mills, and Casey Sadler and Rowan Wick were able to slam the door as the Cubs beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 for their fourth straight win.
The Cubs also got Kris Bryant’s first home run of the season in the contest, and got a sacrifice fly by Javier Baez as they moved their record to a National League-best 8-2 on the young season.
Mills walked three batters and struck out four, notching his second consecutive strong start for the North Siders. A source of frustration in the early part of the season, the Cubs’ bullpen also turned in its second consecutive strong effort, as Sadler and Wick combined for two shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out two batters.
Danny Duffy had a good day for the Royals, allowing one earned run in six innings, but he was handed the tough-luck loss as his teammates couldn’t get anything going against the Cubs’ pitching staff.
The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning when Baez lifted a fly ball to right field. Nico Hoerner tagged up on the play and scored well ahead of the throw, putting Chicago ahead 1-0.
The Cubs kept the Royals’ offense at bay, and they got a key insurance run in the seventh inning as Bryant lined a home run into the left-center field bleachers, giving himself his first home run of the season and giving his team a 2-0 lead.
From there Sadler and Wick slammed the door, with the latter hurler picking up his second save of the year.
Chicago Baseball
The Cubs will try to sweep the first portion of their home-and-home series against the Royals on Tuesday, as they’ll send Kyle Hendricks to the mound against Kansas City.
