The Pittsburgh Pirates offense was not very effective for the third day in a row as they got swept by the Chicago Cubs losing by a score of 6-2. Matt Joyce provides the only offense of the day with his third pinch hit home run of the season.
The Pittsburgh Pirates offense once again went dormant as they lost to the Chicago Cubs today by the score of 7-2. The loss was the Pirates fourth straight as they were swept by the Cubs and could not do anything right in the series.
Juan Nicasio started the game for the Pirates and pitched a lot better than his stat line suggests. In total he went 4.1 innings giving up four runs, one earned, on eight hits walking three and striking out one batter.
Nicasio had two big problems on the day. The first being his inefficiency he walked three batters and threw 102 pitches in just over four innings of work. He has to work on being more efficient in future starts to have the success he was having in spring training.
Secondly, his defense failed him when he needed them to come through. Andrew McCutchen committed an error in the second inning and it cost them big time as it ended up costing them big time and giving the Cubs a big lead.
The Cubs offense started up early in the top of the second as a walk, a fielders choice, and the McCutchen error set the Cubs up with first and third and two outs. Then Ben Zobrist hit a three-run home run driving in all three of his RBI on the day and giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
The Cubs would add another run in the fifth as a double by Anthony Rizzo and a ground out by Javier Baez gave the Cubs a runner at third with two out. Then Javier Baez came through with a big ground rule double that put the Cubs ahead 4-0. Nicasio was pulled after that and Jared Hughes came in to finish off the inning for the Pirates.
Ryan Vogelsong came in next for the Pirates and pitched 2.0 strong innings for the Pirates giving up one run in the top of the seventh inning on one hit While striking out one batter. Vogelsong has been an effective long relief man for the Pirates and, along with Kyle Lobstein, have logged a lot of innings saving some of the later inning guys.
Vogelsong's only big problem came in the top of the seventh when he gave up a leadoff solo home run to Anthony Rizzo to put the Cubs ahead 5-0. Four of the Cubs six runs on the day came via the home run. If the Pirates are able to limit home runs, they can be a very successful stats.
The Pirates got their only offensive production on the day in the bottom of the seventh inning. Andrew McCutchen hit a one out double to give the Pirates a man in scoring position with one out. Then Matt Joyce hit his third pinch hit home run of the season, a two run shot, to put the Pirates on the board 5-2
Joyce has been a force off of the Pirates bench producing three of his four home runs in the pinch hit role. He is currently batting .371 with four home runs and 12 RBI in limited work. He has been a force off the bench and has produced in a big way.
The Cubs would add one more run in the bottom of the ninth after back to back singled by Rizzo and Kris Bryant and a pop out by Zobrist gave the Cubs first and third with one out. Then Javier Baez drove in the final run of the game with a fielder's choice to give the Cubs the 6-2 lead that would eventually hold up to the final score.
The Pirates were swept by the Cubs and are on a four-game losing streak. They currently sit at 15-13 which is good for second place in the NL Central. The Cubs improve to 20-6 and still sit atop the NL Central.
The Pirates are off tomorrow and return to action on Friday as they travel to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals. The Cardinals will send Carlos Martinez (4-1 2.60) to the hill. Last time out Martinez took the loss as he faced the Washington Nationals giving up four runs over 6.2 innings of work. The Pirates will counter with Francisco Liriano (2-1 3.86). Last time out, Liriano collected his second win of the season giving up one run over 6.2 innings of work against the Cincinnati Reds. First pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
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