CHICAGO -- Behind Kyle Hendricks' 12-strikeout performance and five homers, the Cubs cruised to a 10-5 win over the Pirates on Sunday night at Wrigley Field, capping off a convincing sweep and further distancing themselves from the rest of the National League Central.
Hendricks fanned a career-high 12 batters without a walk over six innings. He allowed only one run, a solo homer by Josh Harrison in the fourth inning. Hendricks had plenty of margin for error, as the Cubs pounded out 10 runs on 14 hits, including back-to-back solo shots by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras' first Major League homer.
The Cubs have won 10 of their last 11 meetings with the Pirates, including last year's NL Wild Card Game, and outscored the Bucs by 46 runs during that stretch.
Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon gave up four runs on eight hits and three homers, unable to repeat his outstanding performance on Tuesday, when he fired eight shutout innings against the Mets. The Bucs have lost five in a row for the second time this month, 10 of their last 11 games and 17 of 22, falling three games below .500 and 15 games behind the division-leading Cubs. Over their last 11 games, the Pirates have been outscored, 76-34.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Grand entrance: Contreras homered on the first pitch of his first Major League at-bat, crushing A.J. Schugel's changeup to dead center field for a two-run shot that put the Cubs up, 6-1, in the sixth. Contreras, Chicago's top catching prospect, made his debut when he caught the ninth inning Friday and is scheduled to make his first start Monday, but he already received a curtain call from the Wrigley Field crowd that went nuts after his storybook homer. More >
Welcome to The Show: Called up before the game, Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings made his Major League debut on a national stage. Stallings went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, but he made an athletic play in the third, reeling in a strong but off-line throw from Gregory Polanco and leaping to tag out Miguel Montero for the last out of the inning.
Adam Berry has covered the Pirates for MLB.com since 2015. Follow him on Twitter at @adamdberry.
Cody Stavenhagen is a reporter for MLB.com based in Chicago.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire