Pittsburgh 5, Chi. Cubs 4
When: 12:35 PM ET, Thursday, April 23, 2015
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature:
43°
Umpires:
Home -
Kerwin Danley, 1B -
D.J. Reyburn, 2B -
Joe West, 3B -
Gabe Morales
Attendance:
22224
By The Sports Xchange
PITTSBURGH -- Gregory Polanco drove in a pair of runs and collected his second three-hit game in a week to help lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-4 comeback victory over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
Polanco, the Pirates' center fielder, drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning after third baseman Josh Harrison doubled and pinch-hitter Corey Hart was intentionally walked. The lead was the first of the game for Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh (8-8) tied the game with a three-run sixth inning that chased Chicago right-hander Kyle Hendricks from the mound. Harrison led off with a double and scored on Polanco’s double two batters later, cutting Chicago’s lead to 4-2.
Right-hander Edwin Jackson replaced Hendricks but failed to record an out against any of the three batters he faced. He was charged with an unearned run and allowed his inherited runner to score as the Pirates tied the game on shortstop Jordy Mercer’s RBI single.
Hendricks allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked none and struck out two.
Pittsburgh left-hander Jeff Locke allowed four runs in five innings, giving up seven hits and three walks while striking out seven.
Right-hander Radhames Liz entered in the sixth and worked two scoreless frames to earn the victory. Liz (1-1) struck out two and gave up one hit.
Pittsburgh right-hander Arquimedes Caminero struck out a pair in a clean eighth before right-hander Mark Melancon earned his third save of the year with a perfect ninth.
Chicago scored in the second on a two-run triple by third baseman Jonathan Herrera. Shortstop Starlin Castro and catcher Welington Castillo led off with singles, but Castro was thrown out at home as he broke on contact of second baseman Addison Russell’s ground ball to first.
Herrera's fly ball to deep left-center field glanced off the glove of left fielder Sean Rodriguez, allowing the Cubs to take a 2-0 lead.
Rodriguez halved the Pirates' deficit in the home second with his first home run of the season. His homer to center field came on a 2-1 pitch from Hendricks.
The Cubs pushed their lead back up to two runs in the fourth after Castro singled and scored on Russell’s double to right-center for a 3-1 lead.
Chicago added another run in the fifth as left fielder Chris Denorfia singled, first baseman Anthony Rizzo doubled and right fielder Jorge Soler walked to load the bases. Locke walked center fielder Kris Bryant to force in a run, giving Chicago a 4-1 lead.
NOTES: SS Jordy Mercer started for Pittsburgh after missing two games with a rib contusion suffered when he was hit by a pitch from Matt Garza on Sunday ... Pittsburgh CF Andrew McCutchen was out of the starting lineup Thursday with a scheduled day off.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
| Chi. Cubs |
|
Pittsburgh |
|
Kyle Hendricks
|
Player |
Jeff Locke |
|
No Decision |
W/L |
No Decision |
|
5.1 |
IP |
5.0 |
|
2 |
Strikeouts |
7 |
|
5 |
Hits |
7 |
|
5.06 |
ERA |
7.20 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Chi. Cubs
|
8 |
0 |
12 |
.250 |
11 |
12 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
| Pittsburgh
|
10 |
1 |
17 |
.294 |
12 |
7 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
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