“I think everybody had a lot of faith that this was coming,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s fun to see because this is what makes a good team. This is what makes a good offense, is that Ian can kind of be not clicking, and then he gets clicking and it wins you a game.”

The Cubs are close to getting their ace back. Shota Imanaga tossed two innings in a rehab start at the Arizona Complex League on Monday night. The lefty struck out four and allowed just one hit while tossing around 25 pitches. The team wanted him to get to 40 on the evening, so he immediately threw another 15 in a bullpen after his outing.

White Sox manager Will Venable returns to face his previous team on Friday, while the Cubs have a 10-day homestand that kicks off Thursday.

WASHINGTON — As soon as Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner completed the tag on the Nationals’ Robert Hassell III, his right hand shot up. He popped up and pointed to left fielder Ian Happ, who slapped his glove in celebration.

Ian Happ launches a solo home run to left field that ties the game at 2 for the Cubs in the 8th inning

Ian Happ had three hits including a home run to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 7-1 victory over the host Washington Nationals on Thursday.

Kyle Schwarber homered, Alec Bohm hit a solo shot and had four RBIs, and Jesús Luzardo struck out 10 in six innings to lead the Phillies to a 7-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. The Phillies rebounded from a 1-5 road trip (and losers of nine of 10 games overall) to take two of three at home from the Cubs.

Ian Happ had his history against Phillies righty Taijuan Walker in mind when stepping into the batter’s box in the sixth inning on Tuesday night. Walker had used a mix of sinkers and cutters to handcuff the Cubs’ left fielder in the past,