Ildemaro Vargas sees hit streak end as Diamondbacks fall to Cubs

Diamondbacks infielder Ildemaro Vargas’ hitting streak came to an end at 27 games when he was shut out in Arizona’s 2-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

The infielder extended his streak long enough to set a new best mark by a Venezuelan-born player in MLB history. It went down as the second longest in franchise history, trailing only Luis Gonzalez’s 30-game streak.

Vargas was batting in the cleanup spot for the first time in his career on Saturday. He was 16 of his last 33 entering the contest, coming off a 4-for-4 showing in Friday’s loss.

In his first at-bat, Vargas grounded out with Corbin Carroll in scoring position. He later flied out to deep center field and grounded out his third and fourth times up.

His batting average dropped from a Major League-leading .404 before the game to .388 after coming up empty on his four at-bats.

Ryne Nelson bounces back

Coming off 14 earned runs over his last two starts, Ryne Nelson got off to a much better start on Saturday with two strikeouts in the first inning.

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ was a thorn in Nelson’s side throughout the start after a solo home run in the second inning, later adding a double. He was also intentionally walked to load the bases ahead of a Seiya Suzuki flyout.

Outside of Happ’s damages, Nelson did not allow a run with two hits and one walk in 5.2 innings pitched.

Chicago southpaw Shota Imanaga was even better, pitching seven scoreless innings (84 pitches) with four hits and one walk allowed.

The Cubs’ second run was also scored by Happ, following his triple and Suzuki’s sacrifice fly to left field in the eighth inning.

Arizona has lost three straight three-game series with a two-game split in Mexico over that span for a 3-8 record over its last 11 games. It was 10-3 over the previous 13 games.

The Diamondbacks can finish the six-game road trip (1-4 so far) on a good note with Sunday’s series finale at the Cubs. The matchup will see Merrill Kelly face off against lefty Matthew Boyd.

Catch first pitch at 11:20 a.m. MST on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app or online.

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