Cubs Rally Past Pirates With 2 Runs In 13th Inning For 8-7 Win
CHICAGO (AP) — Miguel Montero hit a game-ending RBI single in the 13th inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a wild 8-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo set the stage for Montero's clutch swing with consecutive RBI singles against Jeff Locke (9-8), plating the tying run. After Ben Zobrist was walked intentionally, Montero lined a clean single into left field.
Rob Zastryzny (1-0) got his first major league win despite allowing Josh Harrison's sacrifice fly in the top half of the inning. Jorge Soler and Willson Contreras homered for the Cubs, and Javier Baez collected four hits.
Pittsburgh had won eight straight road games. It fell 1 1/2 games back of St. Louis for the second NL wild card.
Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell helped the Pirates build a 6-3 lead with opposite-field homers against Jake Arrieta, but Contreras belted a two-run shot to center against Neftali Feliz in the eighth and Soler connected for a tying solo shot in the ninth against closer Tony Watson.
Baez was thrown out at the plate to end the 10th and 12th innings. Catcher Francisco Cervelli made a nice lunging tag to get Baez on Rizzo's inning-ending double play in the 10th, and then corralled left fielder Starling Marte's outstanding throw in time to get Baez in the 12th.
Rizzo, one of the leading candidates for NL MVP, also struck out with runners on the corners for the final out of the eighth. But his single in the 13th drove in Fowler with the tying run.
Bell's one-out shot to left in the fourth was Pittsburgh's first hit of the game. With two outs and runners on first and second in the sixth, Polanco drove Arrieta's first pitch over the wall in left for a 4-3 Pittsburgh lead.
Polanco also hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning of the Pirates' 3-1 win at Milwaukee on Sunday. He was batting just .138 (4 for 29) against Arrieta before his team-best 21st homer.
Arrieta was charged with six runs — matching a season high, also against Pittsburgh on July 8 — and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. The ace right-hander went 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his first four August starts, recalling his dominant second-half run to the NL Cy Young Award a year ago.
It came to a crashing halt against a most unlikely opponent. Arrieta was on the hook for just his third loss in 14 career regular season starts against the Pirates before the rally in the ninth. He also tossed a five-hit shutout at Pittsburgh in the NL wild card game last October.
The Cubs had plenty of chances against an ineffective Steven Brault, but were unable to deliver a knockout blow.
Brault allowed three runs, two earned, and five hits in four innings after being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis. The lefty replaced Gerrit Cole in the rotation after the ace went on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation.
ON SEPTEMBER
Active major league rosters can expand to as many as 40 players on Thursday, and Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said the team isn't ready to discuss in detail what it might do.
"We've been working on it and continue to work on it next few days, both our internal decisions and anything that we might consider from outside the organization, too," he said.
Asked about Tommy La Stella, who is playing for Triple-A Iowa after initially refusing to report to the minors, Epstein said he thinks the infielder will rejoin the Cubs this week.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day DL and optioned to Indianapolis, where he will make at least one start before the Triple-A season ends next week.
Cubs: RHP Pedro Strop (left meniscus tear) is throwing again, and RHP Hector Rondon (right triceps strain) also is "making great progress," according to manager Joe Maddon. ... RHP John Lackey (right shoulder strain) threw a side session.
UP NEXT
Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (12-7, 2.19 ERA) and Pirates RHP Chad Kuhl (3-1, 3.50 ERA) get the ball for the second game of the series on Tuesday night. Hendricks is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in five August starts. Kuhl allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision in his previous start Thursday at Milwaukee.
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