Brault Shaky, Bullpen Shaken In 13-5 Whupping

Starling walked and stole second on Jon Lester with two gone, but there he stayed. The Cubbies got an infield hit against (and literally off of) Steven Brault with an out, but an around-the-horn DP started by a very nice grab by Freeser ended the action. Lots of action in the second - Freeser singled, Gregory walked and S-Rod took one over the wall. Brault and J-Hay followed with knocks, but they were left stranded. The Cubs opened with a bunt single/double combo, then Steven bopped a batter. A wild pitch brought in a run - his control has been killing him so far this year - and to put the cherry on top, Javy Baez, who homered twice yesterday, did it again by crushing a 3-1 fastball down the pipe and suddenly the Cubbies were up. Pittsburgh got a walk, whiff and DP in the third. The Cubs loaded the bases again on two walks (one intentional) and a ground rule double, with a big hop over the fence saving a run before Steven slipped out of the jam. Brault got his second knock of the game, but that was all the Bucco action in the fourth.

S-Rod did his job tonight (photo UPI/Archie Campbell)

And yay, a 1-2-3 frame for Steven. The game was knotted again in the fifth after Cervy's two-out single chased home Starling, who had doubled. Chi-town started off with a two-bagger, but Brault hung tough to finish his day; that was it for Lester, too. Brian Duensing worked a 1-2-3 sixth and Tyler Glasnow took over for the Bucs. He got Baez swinging at a wild pitch, so Javy whiffed his way to first. A grounder to Josh Harrison that should have been a 4-6-3 was bobbled, allowing Baez to get to second; he quickly stole third. He scored on a bouncer to J-Hay, who made a poor throw home. That was followed by a single and double. Glasnow got a K, but a two-out knock by Ben Zobrist gave the Baby Bears a four run edge. Pedro Strop polished off the Pirates in the seventh.Josh Smoker took over and the Cubs growled - Jason Heyward singled home a tally, Ian Happ smacked a two-run long ball and back-to-back doubles plated another run. A wild pitch followed, but the Cubs were content with their four-spot. Eddie Butler and Dovydas Neverauskas were the eight inning duelers; they each gave up a homer, Butler to S-Rod and Dovy to Baez (although this one was on a curve). Pittsburgh went down without a peep and on the short end of a 13-5 lacing.

As did Freeser (photo Pirates/Marty Morrow)

The record's nice but if the Pirates don't get a couple of warm bodies in the bullpen, that could go south in a hurry; they can't count on Schugel and Musgrove, whenever they return, to be the cure-all. And that D! J-Hay's yips in the sixth opened the floodgates even though he wasn't charged with an error, and the pile of infield hits is either a testament to soft contact or a soft set of infielders. Yes, the Bucs have something to build on, but they're a couple of bricks shy yet.

Notes:

• Jordy had a six-game hitting streak snapped tonight. On the bright side, the two bench guys, S-Rod and Freeser, had three hits between them and each homered.
• AJ Schugel will begin a rehab assignment at A+ Bradenton tomorrow. But still no action from Joe Musgrove...
• Altoona OF Bryan Reynolds, part of the Cutch deal, was placed on the DL with a wrist sprain; it ends up to be much worse. He has a broken hamate per @CoryGiger and will miss 4-6 weeks.