CHICAGO — Yu Darvish pitched seven dazzling innings in his seventh consecutive win, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 on Friday night in the opener of a big five-game series.
Led by Darvish and Willson Contreras, Chicago won for the fourth time in five games and strengthened its grip on the top spot in the NL Central. St. Louis dropped into a virtual tie with Milwaukee for second, 4 1/2 games back of the Cubs.
Contreras had three hits and four RBI, including a leadoff drive in the sixth for his fifth homer. He also had a big two-run single on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against Jack Flaherty in the first.
Darvish (7-1) was working on a perfect game before Matt Carpenter opened the sixth with his second homer, a drive to the basket in right-center on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. The Japanese right-hander then retired his last six batters, striking out three more to give him 11 on the night.
Flaherty (2-1) got off to a tough start and never quite recovered, allowing four hits and walking two in 2 2/3 innings.
The Cards and Cubs play their third doubleheader of the season on Saturday, starting with the pregame at 3:20 on KIRX.