Michael Conforto and Carson Kelly gave the Cubs exactly the kind of burst that can turn a tight game into a comfortable one, and CBS Chicago reported that their back-to-back homers helped Chicago beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-0 on Monday night.
The timing mattered. According to CBS Chicago, both home runs came off reliever Taylor Clarke with two outs in the sixth inning, and Conforto’s two-run shot to right field opened things up before Kelly followed with a solo homer to left. For a team trying to keep pace in the NL Central, that kind of quick separation can feel like a deep exhale.
CBS Chicago also reported that Kevin Gausman was in control from the start. He allowed just three hits over seven innings, needed only 94 pitches, and struck out six while walking one. It was, by that account, his best outing for the Cubs since being acquired at the trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays. That sort of steady work on the mound is the other half of a shutout win: the offense lands the punch, and the pitching keeps the door shut.
The Cubs had already started building before the sixth. CBS Chicago said they took a 1-0 lead in the second when Pedro Ramírez tripled down the right-field line to score Ian Happ. Then in the fifth, Seiya Suzuki doubled off the left-field wall to bring home Conforto and make it 2-0. Conforto was on base all night, reaching four times with a single, double, homer and walk, while Happ and Ramírez each finished with two hits.
On the other side, Arizona never found much rhythm. CBS Chicago reported that Merrill Kelly gave up three runs on five hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings, and the Diamondbacks managed just five hits, all singles. The result left the Cubs 5 1/2 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central lead, with the Brewers off Monday.
For Chicago, it was the kind of complete night that shows how a game can swing in a hurry: one inning of power, seven innings of control, and a scoreboard that never really gave Arizona a way back in.
