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Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Pittsburgh 3, Chi. Cubs 1
When: 7:05 PM ET, Thursday, September 12, 2013
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 72°
Umpires: Home - Paul Nauert, 1B - Doug Eddings, 2B - Dana DeMuth, 3B - Mike Estabrook
Attendance: 23541

Pirates 3, Cubs 1: Jeff Locke pitched seven solid innings to break an eight-start winless skid as host Pittsburgh defeated Chicago in the opener of its 11-game homestand.

Marlon Byrd and Pedro Alvarez delivered two-out RBI singles in the fourth inning to help the Pirates pull even with St. Louis for first place in the National League Central. Pittsburgh has won four consecutive games.

Locke (10-5) allowed one run and three hits in recording his first victory since July 21. The left-hander struck out five and walked one.

Chicago starter Chris Rusin (2-4) pitched seven solid innings. He allowed all four hits - and both runs - in the fourth, as Byrd forged a tie with an infield hit and Alvarez followed by short-hopping the fence in right field to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.

Jordy Mercer added an insurance run with a double to right-center field in the ninth. Tony Watson pitched a flawless eighth and Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his 14th save.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen doubled and scored in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. … Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo singled in the ninth to make him 1-for-18 over his last five contests. … Alvarez has failed to homer in his last 15 games.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Chi. Cubs   Pittsburgh
Christopher Rusin Player Jeff Locke
Loss W/L Win
7.0 IP 7.0
2 Strikeouts 5
4 Hits 3
2.57 ERA 1.29
Hitting
Chi. Cubs   Pittsburgh
Darnell McDonald Player Jordy Mercer
1 Hits 2
0 RBI 1
0 HR 0
2 TB 3
.333 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Chi. Cubs 4 0 5 .125 11 6 1 1 0 0
Pittsburgh 6 0 8 .214 9 3 3 3 0 0