Happ homers, has 4 RBI on 3 hits as Cubs win seventh straight series

WASHINGTON — Ian Happ homered and drove in four runs on three hits, Pete Crow-Armstrong added his team-leading 16th home run and Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 7-1 on Thursday night to earn their seventh consecutive series victory.

Colin Rea (4-2) allowed five hits over 5⅓ scoreless innings after opener Drew Pomeranz completed a clean first as the Cubs won the rubber game and their 16th of their last 21 games overall.

Washington's Jake Irvin (5-2) allowed three runs over five innings, including Crow-Armstrong's 2-run shot in the first and Happ's run-scoring double — good for his 500th major-league RBI — in the second.

Luis García Jr. singled in the Nats' run in the ninth.

Happ connected for his 2-run, 405-foot drive off the facade of the third deck in right field against Jackson Rutledge in the sixth. In the ninth he followed Reese McGuire's run-scoring infield single with his own RBI single to center off Eduardo Salazar.

Key moment

Caleb Thielbar entered for Rea with two aboard and a 5-0 lead in the seventh. García fouled out, then after Robert Hassell III's single loaded the bases. Thielbar froze CJ Abrams with a 2-2 curveball over the zone to escape the jam.

Key stat

Including Rea, the Cubs bullpen allowed no earned runs in 12⅓ innings in the series. Chicago's bullpen ERA is 0.74 over its last 19 games.

Up next

Cubs: Haven't named their Friday starter yet but will open their series in Detroit against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who has pitched 16 consecutive scoreless innings in his last two starts.

Nationals: Continue their homestand against Texas, opening the series against former teammate Patrick Corbin (3-4). The left-hander spent the previous six seasons with Washington and was its last remaining player from the 2019 World Series-winning team. Righty Michael Soroka (2-3) goes for the Nats.