WASHINGTON — As soon as Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner completed the tag on the Nationals’ Robert Hassell III, his right hand shot up. He popped up and pointed to left fielder Ian Happ, who slapped his glove in celebration.
In the Cubs’ 7-1 victory, that sequence from Happ to Hoerner in the third inning was the second time Thursday that the Cubs had thrown out a National trying to stretch a single into a double.
“We talk about tagging a lot,” manager Craig Counsell said. “[Bench coach] Ryan Flaherty brings it up a lot; we show plays on it to the guys. And we did a great job with it tonight. They’re big plays. They turn hits into outs, and we turned two extra-base hits into outs.”
The first example came on the Cubs’ first defensive play and helped opener Drew Pomeranz face only three batters in the first inning.
Nats leadoff hitter CJ Abrams hit a line drive into shallow right field. Kyle Tucker cut off the ball up the line and fired to second. The throw got there just behind Abrams’ headfirst slide, but shortstop Dansby Swanson held onto the tag as Abrams slid past the base and his hand came off.
In the third, right-hander Colin Rea got the benefit of the Happ-Hoerner connection. With one out, Hassell chopped a ground ball up the left-field line. Happ got there quickly and one-hopped a throw to second. Hoerner caught it and dove across the front of the bag, leaving no room for Hassell to elude him.
“To be able to get those outs was huge in those situations,” Rea said after holding the Nationals scoreless in 5⅓ innings. “That can change a game right there.”
Pitching fun facts
Rea became the first Cubs pitcher since Jamie Moyer in 1987 to throw a scoreless outing of at least 5⅓ innings without a strikeout.
The Cubs’ staff as a whole combined for only one strikeout (Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar vs. Abrams), the first such performance since May 25, 2017, against the Giants.
Happ heating up
Happ had his first three-hit game since May 1, his first home run since May 5 and his first four-RBI day since April 18.
“Getting closer and closer every day,” Happ said. “And so to click a few and finally see a few balls find grass felt really good. I mean, the double felt good, but the homer, that’s the swing I’ve been looking for for a while.”
Cubs DFA Miller
The Cubs activated reliever Tyson Miller (left hip impingement) from the 60-day injured list and designated him for assignment.
“We didn’t think we got to the point where Tyson was [in position] to replace somebody on the current roster,” Counsell said. “And that’s always a tough decision. Tyson was really productive for this team last year.”
Miller’s hip injury also had thrown his mechanics out of whack this spring, reflected in his 17.36 ERA in five Cactus League appearances. He worked to resolve those issues during his Triple-A rehab assignment (2.77 ERA), but the Cubs’ bullpen had been especially dominant the last three weeks with an MLB-best 0.83 ERA.
Injury updates
Lefty Shota Imanaga (strained left hamstring) threw two innings of live batting practice (39 pitches) at the Cubs’ Arizona complex Wednesday.
His next step will be to repeat that workload in a game setting, Counsell said.
Reliever Porter Hodge, who initially landed on the IL for an oblique injury but was slowed by a lingering hip impingement, threw a bullpen session Wednesday.
