Pittsburgh Pirates Winning Streak Halted By Chicago Cubs
By Larry Snyder
The Cubs brought the Pittsburgh Pirates’ five-game winning streak to an end Monday by shutting the Bucs out 4-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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Clint Hurdle’s crew saw their record move to 11-9. Last season, they were 9-11 after 20 contests. Pittsburgh is holding at third place in the National League Central Division behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals (12-6) and the second-place Cubs (11-7).
It was not Vance Worley‘s night on the North Side of the Windy City as he surrendered four eaned runs on nine hits over six innings. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound righthander struck out three and walked one as he delievered 61 of his 97 pitches for strikes.
The Cubs did most of their damage with two out in the home half of the third. Anthony Rizzo doubled on a line drive to center that scored Dexter Fowler from third. Rookie Kris Bryant’s single to center drove in Jorge Soler and Rizzo.
Chicago added another run in the fifth when Rizzo sent a ground ball single to center that brought Addison Russell home from third.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Cubs starter Jason Hammel improved his record to 2-1. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound righthander cruised through the Bucs lineup as he struck out seven and walked none over eight innings. He hurled 71 of his 107 pitches for strikes.
Pedro Strop closed the door for Chicago in the top of the ninth. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound righty put eight of his 13 pitches across the plate for strikes.
The temperature at game-time was a chilly 43 with a 10-mph north wind that made the wind chill 34 degrees. The Pirates offense was just as cool as they collected four hits. Neil Walker did extend his hitting streak to 10 games while Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, and Worley contributed one hit apiece.
Coming on in the seventh, Rob Scahill finished the match-up for the Bucs. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound righthander gave up two hits, walked one, and struck out two. He did not permit the Cubs to score again as he was able to fire 18 of his 27 pitches for strikes.
Up Next: The Pirates and Cubs square off in the middle game of their three-game series Tuesday. The first pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. Chicago will go with lefthander Travis Wood (1-1, 3.24 ERA) and the Bucs will send Jeff Locke (2-0, 3.32 ERA) to the hill.
The 27-year-old will be making his fourth start of the season. His last start was a no-decision in a 5-4 victory against the Cubs Thursday at PNC Park. The 6-foot, 195-pound lefthander is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA in six career starts against Chicago. The game will be on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.
From The Clipboard: The time of the game was 2:20 and 29,159 were in attendance at Wrigley Field…Pittsburgh scratched Gregory Polanco from the starting lineup about an hour before Monday’s contest got underway because of tightness in his left groin…While Sunday’s contest in Arizona produced a season-high 14 hits, the Pirates season-high in runs scored remains at 10. It occurred April 12 against the Brewers in Milwaukee.