MLB

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates

· Major League Baseball
Chicago Cubs
67-66, 31-37 Away
Final
9 - 5
Pittsburgh Pirates
62-70, 32-35 Home

Suzuki and Swanson homer as the Cubs beat the Pirates 9-5 to move above .500

Suzuki hit a tying two-run drive for his 19th homer this season, connecting on a fastball from rookie right-hander Jared Jones (5-7).

“The team, we've always played together,” said Suzuki, who had four hits in an 18-8 win Monday. “I think, right now, everybody is playing well. Clubhouse, everything. Everybody is doing well right now."

Isaac Paredes then walked and scored on Nico Hoerner's double. Following a mound visit, the 23-year-old Jones threw a fastball down the middle to Swanson, who connected for his 12th homer one night after he hit a grand slam.

Swanson, who also walked twice, then walked to the edge of the team's dugout to wish his mom, Nancy — sitting in the front row — a happy birthday.

The Cubs (67-66) have won five of six. They are 28-18 since falling nine games below .500 on July 3.

“We've become consistent, I think,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “And then we've played consistent-enough baseball. This is, let's see, four series in a row, like, win the series. That's consistency. So, that's what we're doing a nice job of.”

In his first start off the injured list, Jones gave up five runs and five hits with four strikeouts and three walks in four innings. He had been sidelined by a right lat strain.

“It’s either a learning experience or you just drown yourself in sulk," Jones said. "Sulking is not really a good option. So, I’m going to take a look at some video and figure out what I can do better.”

Justin Steele (5-5) went five innings for Chicago, allowing two runs and six hits while striking out six.

“Just feel like we're having fun showing up to the clubhouse every day," Steele said. “Everybody's rallying around one another. Might as well keep showing up and wanting to win ballgames and having fun doing it.”

Steele was checked for having rosin on his non-throwing arm in the bottom of the third inning. The left-hander used a towel to wipe it off and was checked again at the beginning of his final two innings.

“You could probably see me shaking. I was scared,” Steele said. “They were saying, ‘You can’t have rosin on your non-throwing arm.' It's what they were saying to me. I really didn't know that, so they told me to go wipe it off my non-throwing arm or whatever. I was definitely scared. Was like, ‘I’m not really doing anything wrong here.' So, I was scared to death, obviously.”

Ben Heller walked Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong with the bases loaded before surrendering a two-run single to Miguel Amaya in the fifth.

The Pirates jumped ahead in the first. Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff single and scored on Oneil Cruz's sacrifice fly. Bryan De La Cruz dropped a two-out RBI double just inside the left-field line.

De La Cruz hit a leadoff homer in the sixth, his 19th on the season and first since he was acquired in a trade with Miami on July 30. Oneil Cruz finished with four hits, including a two-out RBI single in the ninth.

“That’s encouraging,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said of De La Cruz. “When he stays in the middle of the field, drives the ball in the middle of the field, I think that’s the guy we acquired.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Julian Merryweather (right knee tendinitis) was placed on the 15-day IL. RHPs Daniel Palencia and Keegan Thompson were recalled from Triple-A Iowa, and RHP Jack Neely was sent down.

Pirates: RHP Carmen Mlodzinski was reinstated from the 15-day IL. Out since July 29 with a right shoulder strain, he struck out three and walked two in two innings of relief.

UP NEXT

Pirates rookie RHP Paul Skenes (8-2, 2.16 ERA) is set to close the series on Wednesday afternoon, opposite Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (3-10, 6.33 ERA).

How can I watch Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates?
  • TV Channel: Cubs at Pirates 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Pirates: 43.5%
Cubs: 56.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Joe struck out swinging.
9th Inning Cruz to second on fielder's indifference.
9th Inning Hodge relieved Palencia
9th Inning Cruz singled to right, N. Gonzales scored.
9th Inning N. Gonzales doubled to center, Reynolds scored.
9th Inning Reynolds walked.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/chc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/pit.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPIT
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
1 Hit By Pitch 0
11 Ground Balls 14
10 Strikeouts 14
9 Runs Batted In 5
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
7 Hits 10
0 Stolen Bases 1
7 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
9 Runs 5
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
34 At Bats 36
2 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
12 Runners Left On Base 19
0 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 3
13 Fly Balls 9
0 Caught Stealing 0
176 Pitches 164
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 2
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 1
15 Total Bases 16
42 Plate Appearances 41
324.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
4 Extra Base Hits 4
5.9 Runs Created 6.0
.206 Batting Average .278
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.441 Slugging Percentage .444
.441 Secondary Average .306
.357 On Base Percentage .341
.798 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .786
0.8 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 1.6
5.9 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 6.0
53.0 Batter Rating 40.0
17.0 At Bats Per Home Run 36.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 1.00
4.19 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.00
.235 Isolated Power .167
0.70 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.29
.167 Walks Per Plate Appearance .098
.235 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .028
18.0 Runs Produced 10.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.6 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.4
91.8 MLB Rating 86.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

PNC Park

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 13,619 | Capacity:

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee - 67 L3 0.56774193 88
Chicago 9 76 L1 0.5096774 79
St. Louis 10 77 W1 0.5032258 78
Cincinnati 12.5 80 W2 0.4871795 76
Pittsburgh 16 83 L2 0.46451613 72
Full Standings