The Cubs, whose season has been defined by close games, made it look easy in a 14-2 victory Saturday against the Marlins.
As easy as right fielder Seiya Suzuki’s second home-run trot of the day.
As easy as left-hander Shota Imanaga’s rapid-fire first time through the order.
As easy as a handshake line after a stress-free final pitch.
‘‘It’s helpful for everybody, for sure,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘We got to relax a little bit late in the game, and that’s a great thing. It sets your pitching up really well. But got to enjoy this one, for sure.’’
Not much has come easy for the Cubs this season, especially after a two-month rut set them back. With the victory, however, the Cubs improved to .500 (65-65) for the first time since June 5.
‘‘We dug ourselves a pretty big hole at some point from that number,’’ Counsell said. “And it’s taken us a bit. But this stretch now, specifically into August, we’ve played really consistent baseball. . . . Consistency means you’re getting contributions up and down the roster. And I feel like that’s where we’re at right now.”
The bullpen settling into a rhythm and the bottom of the order surging offensively have been major factors in the Cubs’ turnaround, and the rotation has remained a strength.
The Cubs have reached a soft spot in their schedule and will benefit from regular days off the rest of the way, but they still face an uphill climb to earn a National League wild-card spot.
‘‘There are tough games in the past,’’ Suzuki said through an interpreter. ‘‘But everybody kept on working hard, everybody’s working together. We have about 30 games left, so we just want to keep it going.’’
The last time the Cubs had a chance to reach .500 came with Imanaga on the mound, too. It was the first game of a three-game series Aug. 12 in Cleveland, and they hit Guardians starter Ben Lively hard. But Imanaga yielded seven runs that day, and the Cubs lost 9-8. They went on to get swept in the series.
This time, everything lined up to help the Cubs achieve that elusive .500 record. Imanaga cruised through the first four innings, allowing only a solo homer to Connor Norby.
‘‘They were very aggressive early on in the count,’’ Imanaga said of the Marlins. ‘‘And I was noticing that, so that was kind of the game plan: Let them hit it and then just keep going from there.’’
Imanaga’s pace slowed in the fifth, when he yielded two hits — including a solo homer to David Hensley — and issued a walk. But he got out of the inning with his first strikeout of the game.
That was a rarity for Imanaga. In each of his first 23 major-league starts, he had at least one strikeout by the end of the second inning. In all but two of those, his first strikeout had come in the first.
‘‘Very efficient,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘And that got him through seven innings.’’
Those seven innings matched Imanaga’s career high.
Imanaga was pitching with a lead for the entire game. Suzuki spotted him a three-run advantage with a solo homer in the first and a two-run shot in the third.
‘‘I thought he was getting a little tired,’’ joked Suzuki, who added a triple in the seventh to go with his first multihomer game of the season, ‘‘so I’m glad I was able to score a few runs for him.’’
The rest of the offense broke out in earnest from the fifth on. In the last two spots of the batting order, Pete Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to the second deck and an RBI double, and Miguel Amaya went 3-for-4 and forced an errant throw on the bases that scored two runs.
‘‘Obviously, you want to have nice games all the time,’’ Suzuki said. ‘‘But that’s the difficult part of baseball.’’
It’s rarely easy.