CHICAGO (AP) 鈥� Rookie Joey Loperfido homered, Bowden Francis threw seven scoreless innings, and the Toronto Blue Jays shut out the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Sunday.
尝辞辫别谤蹿颈诲辞鈥檚 Shota Imanaga (9-3) in the second was all Toronto needed to end a two-game skid.
鈥淭o come through for those guys, especially in what ended up a one-run game, it felt good,鈥� said Loperfido, who hit his first home run for the club from Houston.
Francis (6-3) matched his longest career outing, set six days earlier against the Los Angeles Angels.
He was perfect the first time through the order but loaded the bases in the fourth. He escaped the jam by catching Dansby Swanson looking at a third strike.
鈥淚 luckily got a call there,鈥� said Francis, who came up big in a big moment in his seventh career start. 鈥淚t worked out.鈥�
The right-hander allowed just one other baserunner the rest of the way and finished with three hits and seven strikeouts while walking none to win for the fourth time in six starts.
鈥淗e was in total control today,鈥� manager John Schneider said. 鈥淛ust big pitch after big pitch. You can鈥檛 say enough about him.鈥�
Chad Green, the last of three Blue Jays relievers, worked the ninth to secure the shutout and record his 13th save in as many chances.
Imanaga allowed four hits, walked one and struck out six in the first five innings. It was his first loss since June 21, a span of nine starts.
鈥淵ou had to hit a ball really good today to get it out and give (Loperfido) credit, he hit it really good,鈥� Cubs manager Craig Counsell said after a windy afternoon on the city鈥檚 north side.
鈥淲e just weren鈥檛 able to deliver offensively today.鈥�
The crowd of 36,117 gave its loudest ovation to former Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould, who led the seventh-inning singalong with his children.
TRAINER鈥橲 ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Leo Jim茅nez got a day off after leaving Saturday鈥檚 game with right knee soreness.
Cubs: DH Seiya Suzuki took an Isaac Paredes foul ball off his shin while standing in the on-deck circle in the eighth but walked it off and remained in the lineup. 鈥� LHP Jordan Wicks ( ) will start Tuesday for Triple-A Iowa and make at least one more rehab start before the club decides when to bring him back. He鈥檚 been on the 60-day injured list since June 15.
UP NEXT
Toronto will send RHP Kevin Gausman (11-8, 4.20 ERA) to the mound Monday night against visiting Cincinnati.
Cubs RHP Javier Assad (5-3, 3.19) is scheduled to open a three-game series against visiting Detroit on Tuesday night.
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AP MLB:
The Associated Press
