WASHINGTON \u2014 As soon as Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner<\/b> completed the tag on the Nationals\u2019 Robert Hassell III<\/b>, his right hand shot up. He popped up and pointed to left fielder Ian Happ<\/b>, who slapped his glove in celebration.<\/p>\n
In the Cubs\u2019 7-1 victory, that sequence from Happ to Hoerner in the third inning was the second time Thursday that the Cubs had thrown out a National trying to stretch a single into a double.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about tagging a lot,\u201d manager Craig Counsell <\/b>said. \u201c[Bench coach] Ryan Flaherty<\/b> brings it up a lot; we show plays on it to the guys. And we did a great job with it tonight. They\u2019re big plays. They turn hits into outs, and we turned two extra-base hits into outs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first example came on the Cubs\u2019 first defensive play and helped opener Drew Pomeranz<\/b> face only three batters in the first inning.<\/p>\n
Nats leadoff hitter CJ Abrams<\/b> hit a line drive into shallow right field. Kyle Tucker <\/b>cut off the ball up the line and fired to second. The throw got there just behind Abrams\u2019 headfirst slide, but shortstop Dansby Swanson<\/b> held onto the tag as Abrams slid past the base and his hand came off.<\/p>\n
In the third, right-hander Colin Rea<\/b> got the benefit of the Happ-Hoerner connection. With one out, Hassell chopped a ground ball up the left-field line. Happ got there quickly and one-hopped a throw to second. Hoerner caught it and dove across the front of the bag, leaving no room for Hassell to elude him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be able to get those outs was huge in those situations,\u201d Rea said after holding the Nationals scoreless in 5\u2153 innings. \u201cThat can change a game right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pitching fun facts<\/b><\/p>\n
Rea became the first Cubs pitcher since Jamie Moyer <\/b>in 1987 to throw a scoreless outing of at least 5\u2153 innings without a strikeout.<\/p>\n
The Cubs\u2019 staff as a whole combined for only one strikeout (Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar<\/b> vs. Abrams), the first such performance since May 25, 2017, against the Giants.<\/p>\n
Happ heating up<\/b><\/p>\n
Happ had his first three-hit game since May 1, his first home run since May 5 and his first four-RBI day since April 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting closer and closer every day,\u201d Happ said. \u201cAnd so to click a few and finally see a few balls find grass felt really good. I mean, the double felt good, but the homer, that\u2019s the swing I\u2019ve been looking for for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cubs DFA Miller<\/b><\/p>\n
The Cubs activated reliever Tyson Miller<\/b> (left hip impingement) from the 60-day injured list and designated him for assignment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t think we got to the point where Tyson was [in position] to replace somebody on the current roster,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s always a tough decision. Tyson was really productive for this team last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller\u2019s hip injury also had thrown his mechanics out of whack this spring, reflected in his 17.36 ERA in five Cactus League appearances. He worked to resolve those issues during his Triple-A rehab assignment (2.77 ERA), but the Cubs\u2019 bullpen had been especially dominant the last three weeks with an MLB-best 0.83 ERA.<\/p>\n
Injury updates<\/b><\/p>\n
Lefty Shota Imanaga <\/b>(strained left hamstring) threw two innings of live batting practice (39 pitches) at the Cubs\u2019 Arizona complex Wednesday.<\/p>\n
His next step will be to repeat that workload in a game setting, Counsell said.<\/p>\n
Reliever Porter Hodge<\/b>, who initially landed on the IL for an oblique injury but was slowed by a lingering hip impingement, threw a bullpen session Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Cubs beat the Nats 7-1 in the series finale Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":59913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n