Ildemaro Vargas Powers April Surge Into Diamondbacks Vs Cubs
diamondbacks vs cubs opened at Wrigley Field with Chicago coming off a 17-9 April and Arizona arriving after losing six of its last nine. The matchup put a hot Cubs club in front of an NL West team that finished the month above.500 but with a shaky run profile.
Vargas Sets The Pace
Ildemaro Vargas gave Arizona its sharpest April edge. He finished the month leading the majors with a.378 batting average and the NL with a 1.087 OPS, and his 26-game hitting streak dating back to last season was the second longest in franchise history.
That production mattered because the rest of the lineup had been uneven enough to leave the Diamondbacks vulnerable to short runs of poor pitching. Ketel Marte carried a.682 OPS, Geraldo Perdomo sat at.729, and Corbin Carroll had been as effective as ever, giving Arizona a mix of one bright bat and several lineup spots that had not matched it.
Chicago’s April Turnaround
Chicago spent April cleaning up a rough start. The Cubs lost their first games of their first four homestands or road trips, including a 10-4 home loss to the Nationals on Opening Day and a 2-0 defeat to the Pirates on April 10.
They finally broke through on April 17 with a 12-4 win over the Mets, then finished the month 17-9 and had won 12 of their last 15. That run changed the tone of a home series that also carried a rivalry edge: the Cubs trailed Arizona 100-90 overall and had lost 45 games in the matchup since 1998.
Arizona’s Pitching Problem
The more troubling number for Arizona was 27th in ERA before Thursday. The club had been outscored 28-9 in Milwaukee before heading to Wrigley Field, and it had lost only one of seven games decided by more than five runs while still carrying a minus-24 run differential.
Eduardo Rodriguez was the clearest exception. After signing a $80 million contract in December 2023, he had looked like the pitcher Arizona expected, while Juan Morillo and Taylor Clarke had been effective out of the bullpen and Merrill Kelly had been a shadow of his former self.
James McCann added another odd layer. The backup catcher was on pace for twenty-two appearances on the mound, a reminder of how far Arizona had been pushed into unconventional territory while trying to keep games from getting away.
Wrigley Field Stakes
The Cubs had won two of the three meetings against Arizona at Wrigley Field last year, and another home win would be their 50th in the rivalry since it began in 1998. For Chicago, the series is a chance to keep an April surge going; for Arizona, it is a test of whether Vargas’ form can carry a lineup that has not always been backed by stable pitching.
