Cubs blank Pirates for second straight game |
PITTSBURGH - Make that 18-straight for the Chicago Cubs (35-38) as in 18-straight innings without allowing a run to the Pittsburgh Pirates (34-38) at PNC Park. Coming off their series-opening shutout on Monday and a perfect 4-0 start to the season against the Pirates, the Cubs were looking to make it five straight to open the season against Pittsburgh while also claiming their fourth consecutive series win.
What better way to try and accomplish that than by turning to the NL ERA leader, Marcus Stroman, as he looked to continue his amazing run? Stroman was as good as advertised once again, giving the Cubs seven shutout innings with five strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.28. “I don’t even look at lineups, to be honest with you. I’m someone who pitches straight off confidence,” Stroman said after the win. “I throw my sinker inside to everybody and expand from there. “I’m not someone who overanalyzes lineups. … The last thing I want to do is be negative in any at-bat, in any moment. I don’t ever want to think that any batter that I’m facing is better than I [am]. So I just attack.” Stroman was backed by an early Tucker Barnhardt homer which is all the Cubs would need as they shut out the Pirates for a second straight game 4-0 and moved into third place in the division. When it comes to the Pirates, they were playing decent baseball heading into last week when the Cubs beat them to start what has been a season-worst 8-game skid for them. Looking to put an end to that skid was the hard-throwing Johan Oviedo, who was making his second start in as many weeks against Chicago. Like in his previous outing against the Cubs, Oviedo did his part on the mound as he allowed two runs on five hits in six innings. The problem was a non-existent Pirates offense that has yet to score in this series and has struggled to score against the Cubs this season. Both Oviedo and Stroman came out on fire, with Oviedo allowing only an Ian Happ single through two innings, while Stroman had to work around a hit in each of his first two innings. Once the third inning rolled around, the Cubs put better at-bats together against Oviedo, including Barnhardt, who drove one over the Center Field fence for his first homer as a Cub and the 1-0 lead. Tucker Barnhart - Chicago Cubs (1) pic.twitter.com/su1DKCN06N
For Barnhardt, this was a massive lift off of his shoulders as he provided the Cubs with all the offense they would need. With Stroman continuing to pitch exceptionally well, the Cubs knew runs would be challenging for the Pirates as Ian Happ delivered a one-out triple off the wall in the fourth. Following a hit by pitch to Dansby Swanson, who is now getting X-rays, Cody Bellinger doubled the Cubs lead as his sacrifice fly made things 2-0. That would be it in terms of the offense for quite some time as both pitching staffs started to settle in and make life miserable for the hitters. Despite Stroman continuing to dominate on the hill, he never really got into a massive groove, with the Pirates putting a baserunner on nearly every inning off of him. The same can be said about the Cubs offense, who kept the pressure on Oviedo but would waste a Nick Madrigal double in the fifth to add on. It took the Pirates seven innings to get Stroman on the ropes, and when you look at the final score, this is where the momentum shifted. Trailing 2-0 in the seventh, the Pirate's offense knew it was now or never against Stroman and the Cubs, as they could sense he was starting to get a little tired. A one-out double from Tucupita Marcano set the offense up in a good position, while a two-out walk to Ji-Hwan Bae put the tying run on first. Looking to wiggle out of trouble one last time, Stroman made the pitches he needed and got through the seventh without allowing a run to close out his outing. One of the most significant issues for the Pirates during their losing streak has been a struggling bullpen unable to keep things close. For the most part, their bullpen held up on Tuesday apart from Dauri Moreta in the eighth, who allowed a leadoff Mike Tauchman's homer to provide the Cubs a massive insurance run and a 3-0 lead. Mike Tauchman - Chicago Cubs (2) pic.twitter.com/a4tIUjrcbR
Nico Hoerner followed that up with a triple to keep the pressure on, while the Seiya Suzuki sacrifice fly capped off the scoring with the Cubs in front 4-0 and David Ross going to his pen. What was a struggle most of the season has suddenly turned into a strength as Ross had an opportunity to go with his best to close things out? Those guys were Mark Leiter Jr in the eighth and Adbert Alzolay in the ninth, as the two of them went six up and six down to end the game while striking out two in the process. This win not only moves the Cubs back into third, but it is the team's ninth win over their last 11 games, with Stroman winning his seventh consecutive start to improve to 8-4. “My favorite thing about Stro is the confidence he carries, the belief in himself, the mindset he has,” Ross said after the game. “I wish I would have had more of that as a player -- that confidence in myself.” Happ led the offense with two hits, with five other players picking up one. The Cubs will look to sweep the Pirates for a second-straight series on Wednesday when they turn to Professor Kyle Hendricks against the ageless wonder Rich Hill. The first pitch is an early 11:35 AM CDT, with the Cubs heading across the pond shortly after.
