Ian Happ's Glove, Bucco Bats Give Cubs 3-1 Win In Series Lidlifter

Good start against Mike Montgomery - J-Hay & Austin Meadows singled to put Buccos on the corners and Starling's sac fly brought Josh home. AM was caught stealing, and that short circuited the rest of the frame. The edge lasted a heartbeat; the Cubs rattled Chad Kuhl for a single, double, single and sac fly to take the lead. A no-chance throw home on the fly ball allowed the back Cubby to tag to second. A bopped batter followed but no more points. Corey D legged out an infield knock to start the second and Freeser followed with another rap. Red Beard deflated the balloon by rolling into a 6-3 DP. Jordy got clipped on a 1-2 pitch but Chad bounced out. After an out, Montgomery walked and two more raps loaded the sacks. A curve that was gently rolled over tallied Montgomery (note to Chad: don't walk the pitcher) to make it 3-1. The Bucs started the third with a single, force and walk but again put up a zero thanks to a diving catch of a dying quail by Ian Happ (he originally hesitated, then went full-tilt boogie), saving a run. The Cubs went down quietly.

After the first four batters, Chad settled down but it was too late (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

With an out in the fourth, Red Beard doubled and went to third on a wild pitch but wasn't cashed in as Jordy rocketed an at 'em ball at Baez and Chad rolled out; Pittsburgh hasn't had much ball luck in the early going. Chicago got a two-out knock from Anthony Rizzo, his third hit, but Amore erased him trying to swipe second. AM singled with one gone in the fifth and a grounder moved him up, but he died at second. A one-out walk was followed by a strike 'em out, throw 'em out DP as Cervy is putting up with none of it today. The Pirates were 1-2-3 in the sixth, with Happ making another nice grab. Chad remained on the hill after 100 twirls and gave up a leadoff knock off Moran's mitt followed by a bunt single. The Cubs then hit a ball hard that found Corey D's glove but put up a red flag. In came Edgar Santana, who fanned the next pair of Baby Bruins. Cory Mazzone took over in the seventh and Jordy greeted him with a two-bag gapper. A grounder moved him along but J-Hay bounced out to third, freezing Mercer. Lefty Randy Rosario came in to face AM and made him look bad with a four-pitch K. Dovydas Neverauskas was thrown into the fire and tossed a clean, two-K frame.

Don't run on Cervy (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Rosario stayed on; he's thrown two strikes total to AM last inning and Starling to open the eighth but struck them both out. Cervy squinted his eyes and drew a walk. Corey D flew out and righty Pedro Strop came in to face Freeser, who grounded out. Dovy cruised with a whiff, single and GIDP for another three up, three down inning. Red Beard opened with a rap and was wild-pitched to second. J-Hay ended the game, fittingly enough, being robbed of an RBI knock by Happ, and Moran became the last Bucco stranded in scoring position. The Pirates finished 0-for-13 w/RISP. Pittsburgh just can't get it together; when the pitching is OK, the hitting isn't and vice versa. Seems like a hamster wheel the club just can't hop off of lately.

Notes:

• Corey Dickerson extended his hitting streak to eight games. J-Hay, AM and Red Beard each had two knocks.
• Chad Kuhl tossed 111 pitches, his career high. He had thrown 108 against the Brewers earlier in the season. 
• The Bucs are 31-32 and below .500 for the first time this season after dropping 15 of their last 20 games.
• Clint said Ivan Nova responded well after his bullpen and now they're working on setting up a schedule for his return to the rotation, although the timing is still TBD.
• The "discomfort" that sent Ric Rod to the DL was shoulder inflammation.