CHICAGO — Lost amid the Diamondbacks’ loss in the series opener against the Chicago Cubs was the performance of lefty Brandyn Garcia, who turned in a dominant relief outing in his first appearance in the majors this season.

“Lights out,” manager Torey Lovullo said.

Garcia retired all six batters he faced, striking out two. He gave up a couple of hard-hit balls, one of which went right at right fielder Corbin Carroll, while the other was tracked down on a nice play by left fielder Tim Tawa.

Most impressive was the strike-throwing. Garcia did not issue a walk and went to a three-ball count only once. This comes from a pitcher whose command during spring training cost him a spot on the Opening Day roster and who continued issuing too many walks in Triple-A Reno to open the year.

“You look at the (Moises) Ballesteros at-bat,” Lovullo said. “He’s probably one of their best hitters, and he seemed like he wanted nothing to do with him. That’s the type of stuff he has.

“I was very pleased with the progress he made and the strikes that he threw.”

Garcia averaged 96.3 mph with his fastball, topping out at 97.6.

Diamondbacks at Cubs, 11:20 a.m., Cox, Ch. 34

Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-2, 7.71) vs. Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (2-2, 3.15).

At Wrigley Field: Nelson had a rough time in Mexico City against the Padres, giving up six runs in five innings. He wasn’t especially sharp, but he also was not helped by the altitude, with one of the home runs he allowed to 3B Manny Machado seemingly a product of the high elevation. … Nelson was destroyed in his start before that, giving up eight runs while retiring only one batter in a start against the Blue Jays. … Nelson pitched in relief at Wrigley Field last season and was hit hard, giving up five runs in two-thirds of an inning. … Imanaga posted poor results against the Dodgers in his most recent start, giving up five runs in 5 1/3 innings. … That stopped a string of four consecutive impressive outings in which he gave up a combined three runs in 24 innings. … In two career starts against the Diamondbacks, Imanaga has a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings.

Coming up

Sunday, May 3: At Chicago, 11:20 a.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (1-2, 9.20) vs. Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (1-1, 7.00).

Monday, May 4: Off.

Tuesday, May 5: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.03) vs. Pirates RHP Bubba Chandler (1-3, 4.97).

Wednesday, May 6: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Michael Soroka (4-1, 4.70) vs. Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (4-2, 3.18).

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks at Cubs live updates. Brandyn Garcia impresses