Cubs offense explodes in win over first-place Pirates |
CHICAGO - If the Chicago Cubs (29-37) want to remain in the Central Division race and make things interesting, this will be one of their most crucial stretches of the season. Across their next nine games, six come against the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates (34-31), as the Cubs have an excellent opportunity to gain some ground in the standings.
The first three games come at Wrigley Field, where the Cubs returned home from a lengthy road trip to begin their six-game homestand. Despite waiting for a rain delay that lasted more than an hour, the Cubs certainly came to play as their offense piled up 14 hits and 11 runs. Eight runs came after the fifth inning and three innings as the Cubs rolled past the Pirates 11-3. Jameson Taillon was on the mound for the Cubs, as he had an opportunity to win against his former team. Taillon wasn't perfect, but with the wind blowing out, things could have been way worse as he allowed three runs in six innings for a quality start and picked up his second win of the season. “I'm sure this season's been stressful on him (David Ross),” said Cubs starter Jameson Taillon after the game. “He's trying to put the magic pieces together. And I appreciate that. I've seen what he's been doing behind the scenes, and I know he's rooting for us and pulling for us. But at the end of the day, I think sometimes it just comes down to us just playing better.” The same can't be said about his counterpart Luis Ortiz who couldn't make it out of the sixth and was charged with four earned runs before the Pirate's bullpen imploded. Things got off to an excellent start for the Pirates as they opened the scoring and grabbed a 1-0 lead on the Jack Suwinski homer. That was the Pirates' only lead of the night as the Cubs offense came out swinging. Most of the damage against Ortiz came in the first inning when Mike Tauchman led things off with a walk before advancing to second on a Nico Hoerner single. Two batters later, Ian Happ ended his long homerless drought as the Cubs took a 3-1 lead. Ian Happ - Chicago Cubs (5) pic.twitter.com/EwowI0xMSK
Pittsburgh kept the pressure on Taillon in the second inning when Josh Palacios picked up a one-out double. Two batters later saw Ji-Hwan Bae come through with an RBi single as he pulled the Pirates within 3-2. Across the next three innings, both pitchers settled in on the mound, although Taillon had to wiggly his way in and out of traffic to keep his team in front. Eventually, that came back to bite him, with Chicago Native Suwinski leading off the top of the sixth with his second homer of the night and making things 3-3. Taillon finished that inning to give the Cubs six innings, but he left with the game tied and the pressure back on the offense. Perhaps a Suwinski homer is just what the Cubs needed, as their offense seemed to play better after he homered. A one-out walk from Happ in the bottom half of the sixth was followed by a Dansby Swanson single to put runners on the corners. That set the stage for Matt Mervis, who took a Dauri Moreta slider and ripped it to right for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning single. Chicago had a chance for more later in the inning, only to see a Nick Madrigal single hit Miles Mastrobuoni in the foot to end the threat. In what was now a battle of the bullpens, the surging Julian Merryweather entered in the seventh and continued his strong work by striking out a pair. The same can be said about the Cub's offense as they were getting ready to continue their onslaught, with Tucker Barnhardt leading off the frame with a single while a one-out walk from Hoerner and a Seiya Suzuki single loaded the bases. Looking to deliver the knockout blow, Happ did manage to bring home a run as he was hit by a pitch to make things 5-3. Swanson followed that up with an RBI single, with Yan Gomes adding a pinch-hit two-run single later in the frame to bust the game open 8-3. The Cubs offense wasn't quite done, and after a scoreless eighth from Mark Leiter Jr, it was the offense again making the Pirates pitching staff pay. As has been the case so often this season, the top of the Cubs order started things off with Tauchman leading things off with a single. After Suzuki extended the inning with a two-out walk, Christopher Morel came through and mashed a three-run shot to make things 11-3. Christopher Morel - Chicago Cubs (11)
For Morel, things are trending back upward as he entered the game for Happ, who left after experiencing some minor knee soreness. Needing three outs to close the game, David Ross turned to Anthony Kay, who was making his season debut. Kay was one of the five roster moves made by the Cubs on the day that saw Brandon Hughes sent to the IL and Jeremiah Estrada demoted. Kay made a good first impression and retired the side to close out the Cubs 11-3 win. Tauchman was one of four players to record two hits joining Swanson, Madrigal, and Barnhardt. “I’m trying to continue to form the lineup in a way that gets us the most runs,” Ross said.
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