Ildemaro Vargas Is Hitting .404 and Nobody in Baseball Is Close
The Cubs are rolling right now, and it showed Friday at Wrigley. Chicago took down the Diamondbacks 6-5 in the series opener, improving to 3-1 over their last four games and running their home win streak to nine straight. But the real story? Ildemaro Vargas is on an absolute tear.
Vargas Is Doing Something We Haven't Seen Since 2022
Vargas went 4-for-4 on Friday, a career-high hit total that bumped his batting average to a major league-leading .404. Seriously. Nobody else in baseball is even close. He extended his season-opening hitting streak to 24 games with a first-inning single, which is part of something even more wild: his overall hitting streak dating back to last September now sits at 27 games, the longest in the majors since Trea Turner's 27-game run in 2022. According to Elias, Vargas' current season-opening streak is the longest since Detroit's Ron LeFlore hit in 30 straight back in 1976. He's chasing Luis Gonzalez's Arizona franchise record of 30 consecutive games from 1999.
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Chicago built its cushion fast. Michael Busch smacked a two-run single with the bases loaded in the first inning to spark a three-run frame. Then in the fourth, the Cubs added three more runs to push their lead to 6-1. Colin Rea was sharp for the Cubs, giving up just two runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings while striking out six with zero walks. Jacob Webb closed things out with a save, marking the sixth different Cub reliever to get a save this season.
Arizona wouldn't go quietly. Geraldo Perdomo cranked a three-run homer in the sixth to cap a four-run inning and cut it to 6-5, but the D-backs managed just one baserunner over the final three innings and couldn't complete the comeback. Zac Gallen took the loss after giving up six runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. The Diamondbacks have now lost seven of their last 10.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.