Swanson was credited with nine assists, including running in on some slow rollers, getting to balls headed up the middle, making some dazzling spin moves and showing grace under pressure to help the Cubs (21-12) win their 14th of 17 games overall and 10th straight home game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it a million times,\u201d Cubs reliever Ben Brown said of Swanson\u2019s wizardry. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t diminish how good his plays are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swanson modestly called it \u201ca lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed every out,\u201d the veteran said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen it before plenty of times,\u201d Happ said of Swanson. \u201cIt never surprises me. His ability to make so many different plays was on display today. It never ceases to amaze me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Happ provided the offense with his team-leading eighth home run in the second inning and triple in the eighth that led to him scoring on Seiya Suzuki\u2019s sacrifice fly.\u00a0The switch hitter was 3-for-3 with an intentional walk and was a single shy of hitting for the cycle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t hit the ball left-handed for a stretch there and I hit a few balls hard,\u201d Happ said. \u201cThey were off of three different pitches too. That gives me a lot of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-CUBS-DBACKS016.jpg\")
Cubs left fielder Ian Happ rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the second inning against the Diamondbacks on May 2, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Shota Imanaga (3-2) and Brown combined for the team\u2019s second shutout of the season. Imanaga allowed four hits in seven innings with a walk and five strikeouts. Brown pitched two innings for his second career save.<\/p>\n
The two were able to shut down Diamondbacks switch-hitting first baseman Ildemaro Vargas, who entered the game with a 27-game hitting streak dating to September. He also entered the game hitting a major-league-best .414 but was 0-for-4, including a pair of groundouts to Swanson.<\/p>\n
Imanaga, who had a tough second half of 2025, has had two rough outings this season. But in his other five starts he twirled masterpieces. He allowed three earned runs on 13 hits with five walks and 30 strikeouts in 31 innings in those five outings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m a final product, yet,\u201d Imanaga said through an interpreter. \u201cEach year there is room to evolve and become a better pitcher.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back at my 11-year professional career (eight in Japan and three with the Cubs), every year I try to get better, and the next game is always the most important game.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/CTC-CUBS-DBACKS054.jpg\")
Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya pats the back of starting pitcher Shota Imanaga as he leaves the field in the eighth inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field in Chicago on May 2, 2026. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
With starter Cade Horton out for the season<\/a> and Justin Steele\u2019s anticipated return delayed<\/a>, having Imanaga dominate will be vital for the Cubs as they are anticipating a big season.<\/p>\n The Cubs entered the game tied with the Cincinnati Reds for first place in the National League Central, a division in which all five teams have winning records.<\/p>\n As the season progresses, that\u2019s bound to change. But for now, it has been fun for fans to watch, although Cubs manager Craig Counsell questions the use of the word \u201cfun.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can call it fun \u2014 I call it something else,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been very competitive. The teams are showing they are all competitive. That\u2019s what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Injury report<\/p>\n The Cubs are hoping Hoerner will return Sunday after exiting in the second inning of the series opener Friday with neck tightness. He did not play Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s better but still feeling it,\u201d Counsell said before Saturday\u2019s game. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping for (Sunday). He ran around a little bit and took some swings and it\u2019s just there enough where we would give him another day.\u201d<\/p>\n Cubs closer Daniel Palencia could be back Sunday or early in the week after he completed a rehab assignment Saturday.<\/p>\n Palencia, who has been nursing a strained oblique and has been on the injured list since April 14, threw two-thirds of an inning for Triple-A Iowa at St. Paul and hit 102 mph on one pitch.<\/p>\n Counsell said that if all goes well for Palencia after Saturday, the right-hander could be activated within days. Counsell added that the bullpen has done well in Palencia\u2019s absence with Caleb Thielbar (who is now in the IL), Riley Martin, Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb and Brown notching saves.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, our bullpen has been doing a good job,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done the job. Bullpens can be fickle. Obviously we\u2019re getting a player that we believe in and who has pitched really big innings for us, and getting healthy helps every team.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rawlings officials were in town Saturday to drop off some spiffy Gold Glove awards to three Chicago Cubs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2404],"tags":[146,22,4314,5,24,576,888,733,38,36,4,33,35,770],"class_list":{"0":"post-688820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-diamondbacks","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-diamondbacks","10":"tag-arizonadiamondbacks","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-chicago-cubs","13":"tag-craig-counsell","14":"tag-daniel-palencia","15":"tag-dansby-swanson","16":"tag-diamondbacks","17":"tag-ian-happ","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-nico-hoerner","20":"tag-pete-crow-armstrong","21":"tag-shota-imanaga"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116507837839293346","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}