Justin Steele delivered his first career complete game as the host Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-1 on Friday afternoon in the opener of a three-game series.
Steele (1-3) needed 95 pitches to go the distance as the left-hander allowed one run on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Seiya Suzuki clubbed a two-run homer and Ian Happ also drove in two runs as Chicago won back-to-back games for the first time since June 18-19. Happ went 2-for-3 with a walk.
Taylor Ward had an RBI single and Keston Hiura also had a single to account for Los Angeles’ two hits. Hiura was recalled before the game when Luis Rengifo was placed on the injured list.
Angels starter Griffin Canning (3-9) lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up four runs and six hits. He walked two and struck out four.
Cody Bellinger singled with two outs in the first and Suzuki followed with his 12th homer of the season to put Chicago up 2-0.
Happ made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third.
Los Angeles threatened to score in the fourth after Logan O’Hoppe reached second on an error by right fielder Suzuki and Brandon Drury walked. Zach Neto laced a grounder to third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni, who made a diving stop and fired to second for an inning-ending force out.
Hiura had the Angels’ first hit with one out in the fifth. He moved to second on a ground out and scored on Ward’s base hit as Los Angeles pulled within 3-1. The run was the Angels’ first in three games after they were shut out in consecutive games at Oakland.
The Cubs got the run back in the home half of the frame when Happ delivered another run-scoring single.
Nico Hoerner put the finishing touches on Chicago’s victory in the sixth with a single to center to bring home Tomas Nido, who doubled.
–Field Level Media
