Cade Cavalli takes no-hitter into 7th inning as Nationals rout Cubs

WASHINGTON — Cade Cavalli took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-0 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Michael Busch delivered the Cubs' lone hit with an opposite-field bloop single to left with two outs in the seventh. The Nationals Park crowd then applauded Cavalli, who was trying to throw Washington’s first no-hitter since Max Scherzer did it twice in 2015.

Cavalli (10-5), who turns 28 on Friday, retired the first 15 batters before walking Dansby Swanson to open the sixth. Swanson was quickly erased on Michael Conforto’s double-play grounder.

Cavalli walked Swanson again with two outs in the eighth, but struck out Conforto looking to finish his day. The right-hander struck out 10 while setting career highs in innings (eight) and pitches (103).

The Nationals didn’t muster a baserunner against Kevin Gausman (6-11) until Abimelec Ortiz’s one-out single in the fourth. Two pitches later, Dylan Crews laced an RBI double to left-center.

Washington’s first two men in the fifth reached base before Andrew Pinckney’s sacrifice fly. After CJ Abrams singled, Ortiz hit a three-run shot to right-center to make it 5-0. Daylen Lile added an RBI single later in the inning to end Gausman’s day.

Ortiz has four homers in 11 games this season and hit .389 (7 for 18) with three homers and seven RBIs during the Nationals’ six-game homestand.

Gausman allowed six runs in 4.2 innings while striking out seven in his second start since joining the Cubs from Toronto at the trade deadline.

RHP Clay Holmes (4-5, 2.86 ERA) makes his second start as a Cub as Chicago returns home Friday to begin a three-game series against St. Louis. LHP Andrew Alvarez (2-3, 3.76) starts Friday as Washington opens its three-game series at the New York Mets.