This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Luis Gil and three relievers combined on a one-hitter as the visiting New York Yankees opened a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs with a 3-0 victory on Friday.
Austin Wells singled in two runs and Aaron Judge had an RBI double for New York (81-60), which snapped a two-game losing skid.
Gil (13-6) allowed one hit with seven strikeouts over six innings. He walked two while throwing 89 pitches in his first game since coming off the injured list.
Jake Cousins and Tommy Kahnle each tossed a scoreless inning before Luke Weaver worked around a two-out walk in the ninth for his first career save.
Cody Bellinger’s one-out double in the fourth inning was the lone hit registered by Chicago (72-69), which lost for the third time in its last four games.
Cubs starter Jordan Wicks (2-3) escaped a jam in the first inning after walking Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases with two outs. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed by grounding out to the pitcher.
The Yankees got on the board in the third inning. Gleyber Torres drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on Juan Soto’s single and scored on Judge’s double down the left field line.
With runners at second and third, Wells lined Wicks’ first offering into left field for a two-run single.
Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo made his long-awaited return to Wrigley Field, where he played for 10 years with the Cubs and won a World Series.
Rizzo received a pregame video tribute and hit a leadoff single in the fourth inning. Rizzo was erased on Anthony Volpe’s double-play grounder and finished 1-for-3 with a walk.
Wicks allowed three runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts over five innings.
Chicago struggled to generate any offense against Gil, who dazzled in his return after missing two starts due to a lower back strain.
The Cubs did not have a runner reach third base until the seventh inning. With Nico Hoerner on third and two outs, Cousins struck out Dansby Swanson to maintain the shutout.
–Field Level Media
