PHOENIX (AP) — Miguel Amaya hit two doubles and had five RBIs, Ian Happ added a homer, double and three RBIs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-6 on Thursday night.
Amaya’s double with the bases loaded in the fifth bounced off the glove of Jake McCarthy, who couldn’t come up with the catch after diving for the ball in center field. It brought home Michael Busch, Pete Crow-Armstong and rookie Matt Shaw for a 7-3 lead.
Amaya pushed Chicago’s lead to 10-5 in the ninth with a two-run double down the left field line.
Happ connected for a two-run double in the second for a 2-1 lead and added a solo homer in the fourth. Lefty Justin Steele (1-1) gave up three runs over five innings, walking one and striking out two.
Arizona’s Zac Gallen (0-1) gave up four runs over four innings, throwing 83 pitches and just 43 strikes. He walked four and struck out four. Eugenio Suárez hit a solo homer and Josh Naylor — acquired from the Guardians in an offseason trade — had an RBI single in the first for an early 1-0 lead.
The D-backs cut the Cubs’ lead to 8-5 in the sixth after sacrifice flies from McCarthy and Geraldo Perdomo, but Amaya’s second double in the ninth put the game out of reach.
It was the Cubs’ first win of the season. They dropped two games to the Los Angeles Dodgers to start the year in Tokyo on March 18 and 19.
Key moment
Crow-Armstrong hustled from first to second with two outs in the fifth, beating the throw from Perdomo that would have been a force out to end the inning. That set up Amaya’s crucial three-run double.
Key stat
The Cubs were 5 of 12 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
Up next
The D-backs will send RHP Merrill Kelly to the mound on Friday night, while the Cubs counter with RHP Jameson Taillon.
Photo: Chicago Cubs’ Miguel Amaya connects for a three-run double against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of an opening-day baseball game Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
