Bucs Put A Late Scare In Cubs Before Going Down in 10th, 7-6

After two whiffs from Jose Quintana, Joey O got a high 1-2 heater and drilled it into the LF stands to put Ivan Nova up 1-0 before he even toed the rubber. The two-out lightning hit him, too - after a pair of routine outs, Anthony Rizzo dropped a single into center and Jason Heyward went long to left center to claim the lead. It was a quiet second for both clubs.K-Man opened the third with a single; for the second night, the Buc pitcher bunted into a DP. They have to counter the Cubs aggressive D by swinging away or at least chopping the ball if they want to quit killing innings. Chicago opened with back-to-back knocks, one a bullet and one an infield knock. Then Fraze booted a possible DP ball, sheesh. A sac fly brought in a run and moved the other runners up. Diaz caught a pop foul; it was reviewed and ruled to have brushed the netting, a view not supported by any angle we saw. A pop to short was ruled a good catch, tho. A walk jammed the sacks and another chased home a run before Nova worked out of it. After two K in the fourth, Eli tried to get a run back but his drive was hauled in short of the track in right center. With two gone, Daniel Murphy singled, stole second and scored on Javy Baez's knock, followed by an infield rap that Fraze should have eaten up. A fourth straight hit tallied another point, tho J-Low tossed out Rizzo at third.

Tanner tossed two zeros tonight (photo ESPN)

Corey D got a run back with a first-pitch homer in the fifth. Ian Happ ran down Pablo's bid for extra bases, then J-Low came back from 0-2 to a full count and tripled. Newman tapped back to the mound and Q caught Luplow napping at third, tossing him out before he could scamper back. A liner to right ended it. Tanner Anderson took over and gave up two quick knocks, again a rope and infield hit; a bunt moved them up. An intentional walk filled the bases and a 4-3 DP made it the smart play for the Bucs. Jesse Chavez got the ball in the sixth, and gave up just a two-out Joey O single. Tanner spun a clean, nine-pitch frame. Not a peep was heard from Pittsburgh in the seventh. Michael Feliz climbed the bump and gave up a rap, then missed on a pickoff toss, but left the Cubby at second. Carl Edwards Jr. got a whiff and then walked a pair, getting the hook for Steve Cishek. After a fly, a wild pitch put the Pirates in scoring position and J-Bell walked to juice the sacks. Eli singled home a pair and moved to second when the relay to third bounced off Bell. An intentional walk filled the bases again before Pablo's full count bouncer ended the fun. Steven Brault got the call and tossed a clean frame. Justin Wilson was waved in for the ninth.

Eli had a pair of knocks in Cubbyville (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

K-Man singled with an out and moved to third following Cervy's two-bagger. Krame ran for Fran. Fraze popped out, but with two strikes, Starling lined a double to right off Rizzo's glove and it was tied. That brought in lefty Jaime Garcia to turn J-Bell around. Josh cranked out 112 MPH smash, but it was banged right to Baez. Kyle Crick claimed the hill to face the 2-3-4 hitters and worked a 1-2-3 frame. Garcia gave up a leadoff knock to Diaz in the 10th. After a fly out, Brandon Kintzler was beckoned and got Pablo to bang into a DP. Ric Rod toed the slab and walked Happ to start the frame, and burner Terrence Gore ran for him. A bunt and grounder moved him up and with two-outs, Albert Almora's grounder through the left side walked it off for the Cubbies.

A sloppy start got them in a 6-1 hole (If Fraze makes two routine plays, Ivan only gives up two runs instead of six despite laboring tonight), but the guys kept it interesting. Seems like they know that even if the games mean nothing to the team, it means a career to the young guns.

Notes:

• Starling, Eli and Newman each had a pair of hits tonight.
• This was Super Nova's last start of the year. He finished the campaign at 9-9/4.19.
• Add another to the list: the Pirates announced that Edgar Santana will go undergo TJ surgery and miss the 2019 season. Been a rough month after a fairly injury-free campaign.
• Jung-Ho Kang played a nine-inning game in the Florida Instructional League w/o pain, per @RobBiertempfel, so that's a start.
• Reese McGuire, who went to Toronto as part of the Drew Hutchinson/Frankie Liriano deal, hit his first MLB homer today.
• The Brewers beat the Cards 2-1 to clinch a playoff spot. The Redbird loss also guaranteed the Cubs an October slot.