CHICAGO – Ryan Dempster’s All-Star-caliber season has attracted plenty of suitors hoping the right-hander is the missing link in their quest for the playoffs.

Dempster’s audition in front of scouts Friday at Wrigley Field went off without a hitch against a stacked Red Sox lineup in the Cubs’ 3-0 win. He allowed four hits and threw seven shutout innings to extend his scoreless-innings streak to 22, matching the longest stretch for a Cubs pitcher (Carlos Zambrano, May 2004).

It’s just another footnote in Dempster’s standout year, likely his last on the North Side. Dempster’s stand-up triple in the second inning – aided by first baseman-turned-temporary right fielder Adrian Gonzalez’s misplay – was the 35-year-old’s first since May 12, 2002, against the Reds as a member of the Florida Marlins and only the second of his 15-year career.