CHICAGO _ Yu Darvish continued his renaissance Wednesday by pitching six innings of two-hit ball as the Cubs held on for a 5-2 victory over the Reds before a crowd of 37,260 at Wrigley Field.
This marked the first victory for Darvish in 14 home starts since joining the Cubs prior to the 2018 season. Since the start of the second half, Darvish has pitched 12 scoreless innings while allowing four hits, one walk and striking out 15.
And for the second consecutive time, Darvish carried a no-hitter into the fifth.
He earned his first six strikeouts on breaking pitches and didn't allow a hit until catcher Juan Graterol, who was promoted from Triple-A Louisville before the game, hit a soft single into left field with two out in the fifth.
Darvish showed plenty of strength during his 83-pitch outing, as he struck out Yasiel Puig on a 97 mph fastball to end the fourth, and he whiffed Puig again on a 98 mph fastball to end the sixth and celebrated with a fist pump and yell.
Kris Bryant and Addison Russell provided support with solo home runs in the first two innings, and Jason Heyward added insurance with a two-run double in the seventh.
Reliever Brandon Kintzler's streak of consecutive scoreless outings at Wrigley ended at 23, as the Reds peppered him for four hits in the eighth and brought the go-ahead run to the plate. But Kintzler induced Philip Ervin to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Anthony Rizzo's two-out infield hit produced a run in the eighth, and Craig Kimbrel earned his fourth save in five chances.
With the win, the Cubs (52-44) maintained their 2{-game lead over the Brewers in the National League Central. They open a three-game series Friday against the Padres at Wrigley.
