Pirates Hit 4 Homers In 10-4 Victory Over Cubs
CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew McCutchen hit one of Pittsburgh's four homers, and the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 10-4 on Sunday to move into the second wild-card slot in the National League.
The Pirates swept the three-game series against the last-place Cubs to improve to 12-4 against Chicago this season, including 7-2 at Wrigley Field. Coupled with Milwaukee's 9-1 loss to St. Louis, they moved a half-game ahead of the Brewers for the last wild card.
Neil Walker hit a two-run shot in the first and Jordy Mercer and McCutchen connected in consecutive at-bats in the second. Even pitcher Gerrit Cole got into the act, belting a two-run drive in the seventh for his first major league homer.
Cole (8-5) allowed four runs, three earned, and nine hits in six-plus innings. He struck out eight and walked none in his first victory since July 4 against Philadelphia.
Chicago had won three in a row before the visit from Pittsburgh. Travis Wood (8-12) was tagged for seven runs and nine hits in 1 2-3 innings, making the left-hander just 1-3 with a 5.21 ERA in his last nine starts.
Mike Olt went 3 for 3 for the Cubs, and Matt Szczur had a two-run single in the seventh. Chris Coghlan had two hits and scored a run.
The Pirates scored five times in the second to open a 7-0 lead. They strung together six straight hits with two outs, highlighted by the homers for Mercer and McCutchen.
Pittsburgh finished with 19 hits. Walker, McCutchen and Gaby Sanchez had three apiece.
Sanchez hit an RBI single off Eric Jokisch to make it 8-0 in the fourth.
The Cubs had a 19-inning scoring drought before Olt's RBI single in the fifth. Welington Castillo added an RBI double in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: INF Josh Harrison was out of the lineup for a second straight game after aggravating a left ankle injury in the completion of a suspended game on Saturday. ... The Pirates are concerned that INF Pedro Alvarez's left foot injury is not improving as much they would have hoped. Alvarez is expected to travel with the team to Philadelphia, but the Pirates are considering sending him back to Pittsburgh for further tests.
Cubs: OF Jorge Soler got the day off after playing 14 innings on Saturday. The Cuban rookie missed a major part of the season in the minors with recurring hamstring injuries and the plan is to give him regular rest in hopes that it will help him stay healthy.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Jacob Turner (5-8, 5.54 ERA) goes for his second straight win when he faces RHP Marcus Stroman (9-5, 3.83 ERA) in the first of three games at Toronto on Monday night.
Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke (6-4, 3.75 ERA), who is 4-1 in his past six starts, starts on Monday in Philadelphia. Locke is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies.
The Pirates swept the three-game series against the last-place Cubs to improve to 12-4 against Chicago this season, including 7-2 at Wrigley Field. Coupled with Milwaukee's 9-1 loss to St. Louis, they moved a half-game ahead of the Brewers for the last wild card.
Neil Walker hit a two-run shot in the first and Jordy Mercer and McCutchen connected in consecutive at-bats in the second. Even pitcher Gerrit Cole got into the act, belting a two-run drive in the seventh for his first major league homer.
Cole (8-5) allowed four runs, three earned, and nine hits in six-plus innings. He struck out eight and walked none in his first victory since July 4 against Philadelphia.
Chicago had won three in a row before the visit from Pittsburgh. Travis Wood (8-12) was tagged for seven runs and nine hits in 1 2-3 innings, making the left-hander just 1-3 with a 5.21 ERA in his last nine starts.
Mike Olt went 3 for 3 for the Cubs, and Matt Szczur had a two-run single in the seventh. Chris Coghlan had two hits and scored a run.
The Pirates scored five times in the second to open a 7-0 lead. They strung together six straight hits with two outs, highlighted by the homers for Mercer and McCutchen.
Pittsburgh finished with 19 hits. Walker, McCutchen and Gaby Sanchez had three apiece.
Sanchez hit an RBI single off Eric Jokisch to make it 8-0 in the fourth.
The Cubs had a 19-inning scoring drought before Olt's RBI single in the fifth. Welington Castillo added an RBI double in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Pirates: INF Josh Harrison was out of the lineup for a second straight game after aggravating a left ankle injury in the completion of a suspended game on Saturday. ... The Pirates are concerned that INF Pedro Alvarez's left foot injury is not improving as much they would have hoped. Alvarez is expected to travel with the team to Philadelphia, but the Pirates are considering sending him back to Pittsburgh for further tests.
Cubs: OF Jorge Soler got the day off after playing 14 innings on Saturday. The Cuban rookie missed a major part of the season in the minors with recurring hamstring injuries and the plan is to give him regular rest in hopes that it will help him stay healthy.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Jacob Turner (5-8, 5.54 ERA) goes for his second straight win when he faces RHP Marcus Stroman (9-5, 3.83 ERA) in the first of three games at Toronto on Monday night.
Pirates: LHP Jeff Locke (6-4, 3.75 ERA), who is 4-1 in his past six starts, starts on Monday in Philadelphia. Locke is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in three career starts against the Phillies.
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