Pittsburgh Pirates Fall To Chicago Cubs In Extra-Inning Contest
By Larry Snyder
The Pittsburgh Pirates have played five extra-innings games, and they have yet to taste victory this season. The Bucs went 12 innings Friday at Wrigley Field, and were defeated 11-10 by the Chicago Cubs.
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It was the best of times and the worst of times in right field for Gregory Polanco. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound outfielder turned in a defensive gem in the bottom of the 10th as he caught a fly ball to shallow right off the bat of Matt Szczur, and threw out Starlin Castro at home plate to finish the inning.
In the bottom of the 12th, the 23-year-old could not duplicate his effort. With the bases loaded for the second time with Szczur at the plate, his fly ball to right was enough to drive in Castro as Polanco stumbled and fell, letting the ball drop for a single to end the contest.
The scoreboard at Wrigley Field revealed 30 hits at the end of the day as the National League Central Division rivals put up 15 hits apiece. For the Cubs, it was their fifth consecutive victory.
Clint Hurdle’s squad rallied back from a 10-5 deficit with four runs in the eighth to make it 10-9. The Bucs brought it back to even in the ninth when with two out Francisco Cervelli hit a line drive single to center that scored Josh Harrison.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pirates starter Jeff Locke lasted just three 2/3 innings as he surrendered five earned runs on six hits. He struck out four, walked three, and gave up two home runs. The 6-foot, 195-pound lefthander threw 56 of his 102 pitches for strikes.
The Cubs added two runs off righty Rob Scahill, one of which was earned, in the home half of the fifth. Chicago collected a run in the sixth and two in the seventh off righthander Jared Hughes.
Kyle Hendricks did not last much longer than Locke as he made it through five 2/3 innings for Chicago. He allowed five earned runs on eight hits while striking out seven and walking one. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound righthander delivered 72 of his 99 pitches for strikes.
For the Pirates, Andrew McCutchen went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and scoring one run. The center fielder blasted his fourth home run in the eighth off Cubs reliever Pedro Strop.
Both Pedro Alvarez and Cervelli were 3-for-6 at the plate. Cervelli contributed four RBIs and scored one run, while Alvarez drove in one run and scored two on the afternoon. The sunshine seem to agree with Harrison as he went 4-for-6 with one RBI and three runs scored.
Up Next: Pittsburgh and Chicago will meet in the middle game of their three-game set Saturday. The first pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. at Wrigley. The Cubs will go with lefthander Jon Lester (3-2, 4.10 ERA/1.34 WHIP) while the Pirates will counter with righthander Gerrit Cole (5-1, 2.32 ERA/1.13 WHIP). The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX Sports 1.
From The Clipboard: The game went 5:01 and there were 33,617 in attendance at Wrigley Field…Pittsburgh is 6-6 this season in day games, posting a 4-0 record at PNC Park and 2-6 on the road…When the hits are equal on the score sheet, the Pirates are 2-3…The Bucs will return to Chicago next month for a two-game series with the White Sox on June 15-16. It marks their first visit to U.S. Cellular Field since 2009.
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