Chi. Cubs 4, Pittsburgh 2
When: 2:20 PM ET, Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
Temperature:
65°
Umpires:
Home -
Alfonso Marquez, 1B -
Ted Barrett, 2B -
Mike DiMuro, 3B -
Scott Barry
Attendance:
26171
By SportsDirect Inc.
Cubs 4, Pirates 2: Darnell McDonald went 3-for-4 and slammed a tiebreaking three-run homer to lead host Chicago past Pittsburgh.
Jake Arrieta (4-2) allowed one run and four hits over six innings as the Cubs handed the Pirates a severe blow in the National League Central race. Pittsburgh fell three games behind first-place St. Louis with three games to play.
The Pirates remain one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for the top wild-card spot and home-field advantage for Tuesday’s wild-card game. Pittsburgh concludes the regular season with three games at Cincinnati, beginning Friday.
The contest was tied at 1-1 entering the sixth when Donnie Murphy singled and Junior Lake walked. McDonald followed with a blast into the left-center field bleachers off Francisco Liriano (16-8) for his first homer.
Jose Tabata drilled an RBI triple into the right-center field gap with one out in the ninth inning before Kevin Gregg struck out Marlon Byrd and Starling Marte for his 33rd save in 38 opportunities. Anthony Rizzo had a run-scoring single in the first for Chicago and Pittsburgh’s Justin Morneau drew a bases-loaded walk in the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: McDonald, who also doubled twice, had two RBIs entering the contest. … Liriano struck out eight and allowed four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. … Cubs manager Dale Sveum expects to find out if he’ll return next season on Monday when he meets with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Pittsburgh
|
6 |
0 |
9 |
.176 |
16 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| Chi. Cubs
|
9 |
1 |
16 |
.273 |
20 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
For more information, contact us