Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs

· Major League Baseball

Pittsburgh Pirates

21-26, 12-14 Away

Final
0 - 1

Chicago Cubs

26-21, 14-8 Home

Christopher Morel hits RBI single in the 9th to give Cubs a 1-0 win over Pirates

Bellinger got the winning rally started with a ground-rule double down the left-field line with one out off David Bednar. Morel then cracked a 3-2 pitch up the middle, and Bellinger narrowly beat Michael A. Taylor's throw to the plate on a play that withstood a video review.

“I knew it was close,” said Bellinger, who slid in and just avoided Joey Bart's tag. “I was glad, extremely happy when they said it was confirmed.”

Hector Neris (4-0) tossed a perfect ninth, striking out two, for the win.

“Our pitching staff today was the only reason why we had any chance of getting a win,” said Bellinger, who finished with two hits. “They all did a tremendous job to keep us in the game.”

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga tossed seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball in his third straight no-decision. The 30-year-old left-hander from Japan struck out seven and walked one as he threw 68 of 88 pitches for strikes.

Imanaga lowered his ERA to 0.84 through his first nine major league starts, the lowest mark though nine since earned run average started being tracked as a stat by baseball in 1913. He's won five of them without a loss and was dominant again on Saturday.

Imanaga's ERA beats out Los Angeles Dodger Fernando Valenzuela's 0.91 in 1981.

“To be honest, I'm not really too interested in my stats or any historic value,” Imanaga said through a translator. “But just knowing there are so many good pitchers that came before me and the fact that in the past there are plenty of guys who were able to do that is a good learning experience.”

Mark Leiter Jr. followed with a perfect eighth, striking out the side.

Pittsburgh’s Bailey Falter pitched scoreless, three-hit ball through 7 2/3 innings, the longest outing of his career. The 27-year-old left hander struck out two and walked two, throwing 55 of 83 pitches for strikes.

Falter enjoyed locking horns with Imanaga, even in in eventual loss.

“It was awesome," Falter said. "That guy is one of the best pitchers in the game right now and he’s pretty electric. It was good to battle with him.

"My job is to go out there, put up zeroes and get these guys into the dugout as quick as possible until my job is over.”

Colin Holderman relieved with two outs and two runners on in the eight. After walking pinch-hitter Michael Busch to load the bases, Holderman struck out Patrick Wisdom to end Chicago's threat.

Bednar (2-3) took the loss.

The Cubs traded left-handed reliever Richard Lovelady to the Tampa Bay Rays for minor-league lefty Jeff Belge before the game.

Lovelady, 28, pitched in seven game for the Cubs this season, going 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA before being designated for assignment on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Belge was at Double-A Montgomery of the Southern League and has never appeared in the majors.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: Manager Craig Counsell said 2B Nico Hoerner (left hamstring) is improving and could be ready to return in the next few days. … SS Dansby Swanson (right knee sprain) “is headed in a good direction,” Counsell said and could come off the IL this week. The two-time All-Star was eligible on Saturday. … LH Drew Smyly (right hip impingement) could be sent on a rehab assignment to High-A South Bend next week. … LHP Jordan Wicks (forearm strain) will throw another bullpen session, then likely go on a rehab assignment.

Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (4-3, 3.93) faces Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (3-1, 1.61) in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

How can I watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago Cubs?

TV Channel: Pirates at Cubs 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Cubs: 70.2%

Pirates: 29.8%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Morel singled to center, Bellinger scored, Morel to second.
	9th Inning	Bellinger hit a ground rule double.
	9th Inning	Suzuki flied out to center.
	9th Inning	Bednar relieved Holderman
	9th Inning	Suwinski in right field.
	9th Inning	N. Gonzales struck out swinging.

Statistics

PIT		CHC
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
11	Ground Balls	10
12	Strikeouts	3
0	Runs Batted In	1
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
4	Hits	5
0	Stolen Bases	0
1	Walks	3
0	Catcher Interference	0
0	Runs	1
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
31	At Bats	28
0	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
7	Runners Left On Base	7
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
0	Doubles	1
8	Fly Balls	15
0	Caught Stealing	0
116	Pitches	105
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
4	Total Bases	6
32	Plate Appearances	31
0.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
0	Extra Base Hits	1
-0.4	Runs Created	1.2
.129	Batting Average	.179
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.129	Slugging Percentage	.214
.032	Secondary Average	.143
.156	On Base Percentage	.258
.285	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.472
1.4	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.7
-0.4	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	1.3
4.0	Batter Rating	11.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.63	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.39
.000	Isolated Power	.036
0.08	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	1.00
.031	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.097
-.097	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.036
0.0	Runs Produced	2.0
0.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.2	Patience Ratio	0.3
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.2
57.5	MLB Rating	66.3
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0