Pittsburgh Pirates Come Back To Defeat The Chicago Cubs

In a contest that saw Chicago jump out to an early lead, the Pittsburgh Pirates came back in the later innings Thursday to defeat the Cubs 5-4 at PNC Park, and split their four-game series.

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At 8-8, the crew of the Jolly Roger are tied with the Cincinnati Reds for third place in the National League Central Division. The St. Louis Cardinals at 10-4 own the top spot while the Cubs at 8-7 are in second place.

For the second straight game, Gregory Polanco came through with the winning run, this time in the bottom of the seventh. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound outfielder concluded a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a ground ball single to left off Chicago reliever Brian Schlitter that scored Josh Harrison from second.

The Pirates rally began in the sixth when Polanco doubled to right to drive in Harrison. The barrage continued when Neil Walker singled to center to bring home Polanco. After a throwing error by catcher Welington Castillo on a pickoff attempt, Walker moved to third and scored on a Jordy Mercer line drive to left.

Pittsburgh obtained their first run when Sean Rodriguez collected his first home run of the season in the bottom of the second off Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander gave up five hits as he threw 90 pitches over five 1/3 innings. He surrendered three earned runs while striking out two and walking none.

The Cubs got to the Pirates’ Jeff Locke for four earned runs over five innings of work. The 6-foot, 190-pound left-hander allowed seven hits on 93 pitches. He walked three and struck out seven.

Chicago got on the scoreboard in the second when Jonathan Herrera tripled to center that scored Castillo and Addison Russell.

Joe Maddon’s squad added their third run in the fourth as Russell doubled to right which brought home Starlin Castro from second. For Russell, it was the first RBI of his career.

The Boys from Wrigley added their fourth and final run in the fifth. Kris Bryant walked with one out and the bases loaded which pushed Chris Denorfia across the plate.

The Pirates’ Radhames Liz captured his first win by keeping Chicago off the score sheet in the sixth and seventh innings. Arquimedes Caminero answered the call to the bullpen in the eighth and struck out two.

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle handed the ball to Mark Melancon in the ninth and the 30-year-old right-hander picked up his third save this season. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound closer struck out one and walked none. The six-year veteran threw seven of his 10 pitches for strikes

Hurdle said on the team’s web site, “Arguably for us, it’s one of the best team wins since I’ve been here with what we had and what we went out there with and how we were able to battle.”

BOX SCORE

Up Next: The Pirates hit the road for the next 10 days on a nine-game road trip. It begins Friday with a three-game weekend set against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix.

The first pitch is set for 9:40 p.m. Arizona (8-7) will send right-hander Josh Collmenter (1-2, 3.38 ERA) to the hill while the Bucs will counter with Gerrit Cole (2-0, 3.18 ERA).

The 24-year-old right-hander will be making his fourth start of the season. His last start was a 5-2 win Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2014, he went 3-0 in three starts against teams from the National League West. The game will be broadcast by ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.

From The Clipboard: The time of the game was 3:06 and the attendance was 22,224…The Bucs are 8-2 when they score four or more runs…Infielder Justin Sellers, who began the season on the disabled list, is on a rehab assignment with the High-A Bradenton Marauders…Going into Friday’s contest, Andrew McCutchen is four hits shy of 1,000 in his career.

Next: Pitt To Hire Utah State's Scott Barnes As Athletic Director

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Pittsburgh Pirates Rally To Split Their Four Game Series With Chicago Cubs

By Larry Snyder | Apr 24, 2015