Pittsburgh Pirates Overwhelm Cubs At PNC Park To Keep Hot Streak Going
By Matt Gajtka
Sep 11, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Neil Walker (18) scores a run in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Gerrit Cole wasn’t at his best, but the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offense kept rolling Friday night, getting 14 hits in downing the Chicago Cubs 7-3 at a packed PNC Park.
Leadoff hitter Josh Harrison went 3 for 4 with a walk to boost his batting average to a National League-leading .319, while No. 2 batter Jordy Mercer had three hits of his own to go with three RBIs, propping up a Pirates attack that preferred contact over power on this evening.
Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker each grabbed a pair of hits in the third and fourth spots in the batting order, with Walker driving in two runs. Backup catcher Chris Stewart lofted two hits in the No. 8 hole, helping make up for the absence of a resting Russell Martin.
Pittsburgh (78-69) maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over Milwaukee for the second wild card with its third win in a row and seventh in eight games. The Bucs have averaged nearly six runs per outing over that stretch, which followed a four-game slump to begin September.
Gaby Sanchez (double) and Jose Tabata (triple) had extra-base hits to get the Pirates going in the second and fifth innings, respectively, but most of the damage was done with well-placed singles. Stewart and Walker knocked in early runs to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0 against Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada.
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Chicago youngsters Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara launched solo home runs off Cole, sandwiching Mercer’s run-scoring hit in the fourth. Pinch-hitter Ike Davis hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it 4-2 Pittsburgh, but Wellington Castillo kept the Cubs (64-83) close with an RBI single in the sixth.
Cole, who allowed five hits, struck out six and walked one, labored at the end of his six-inning start. After Castillo cut the lead to 4-3, Cole hit Mike Olt with a pitch, but escaped a bases-loaded predicament by getting Alcantara to pop out in foul territory. The right-hander threw 103 pitches, 69 for strikes.
Maybe the biggest moment of the game came in the bottom of the sixth. Stewart and Harrison were on first and second with one out, and both moved up 90 feet on a pitch that barely bounced away from Cubs catcher Castillo. That bit of opportunistic baserunning induced Chicago to bring the infield in, allowing Mercer to smack a two-run single just beyond the reach of second baseman Logan Watkins.
Bullpen sensation John Holdzkom struck out two in a perfect seventh, Tony Watson did likewise in the eighth, and an extra run generated by McCutchen (double) and Walker (single) gave Mark Melancon a breather. Bucs reliever John Axford navigated a leadoff double by Olt to whiff a pair in the ninth and raise the Jolly Roger at the start of a nine-game homestand.
The pitching matchup for Saturday night’s game is all-lefty, with Jeff Locke opposing Felix Doubront as the Pirates try to reach 10 games above .500 for the first time this season. The Cubs have dropped seven in a row.