April 3, 2014- Cubs at Pirates - harleyhorse8's Dynasty

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April 3, 2014- Cubs at Pirates

Posted on May 20, 2014 at 04:43 PM.

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Pirates Take Game 3 off McCutchen HR

By Andrew Kovalchuk, MLB.com Journalist, April 3, 2014

PITTSBURGH- Both the Pirates and Cubs came out to PNC Park on this Thursday afternoon looking to get a victory. In a close game, the Pirates did just that, while the Cubs were left shaking their heads after a disappointing loss. Wandy Rodriguez (0-0) would take the mound for the Buccos against Edwin Jackson (0-0).

The Cubs struck first in the very first inning, after center fielder Justin Ruggiano, who has been very quiet so far, doubled to deep left center, getting Starlin Castro home. The next few innings would be uneventful, as Jackson also allowed one hit but no runs.

Things got interesting in the fifth for both teams. With the Cubs batting, Mike Olt singled to right and got to second when Polanco mishandled the ball. After the pitcher bunted him over to 3rd, center fielder Emilio Bonifacio hit the first home run of the Cubs' season, putting them up 3-0. In the bottom, the Pirates would answer. With two away, Jose Tabata, pinch hitting for the pitcher, singled to right. Starling Marte then grounded to second in a play that should have ended the inning, but Darwin Barney committed his third error in as many games to allow Marte on base. Next, RF Gregory Polanco, already 2-for-2, hit a long double to center that brought the Pirates to within 1. Thankfully, or so the Cubs thought, the next batter was Andrew McCutchen, who had not managed a hit this series. Easy out, right? Instead, McCutchen showed off his All-Star bat as he went yard over the short fence in left, giving the Pirates the lead.

That would be it for the game, as the Cubs would not be able to drive home any runs on the Pittsburgh bullpen, which has been superb so far. Despite shutout innings by right-handers Blake Parker and Carlos Villanueva, Pedro Strop gave up a run in the eighth to catcher Russell Martin to really put the game out of reach and give Jason Grilli his first save of the season.

Said Barney after being asked about his error that may have lost the game for the Cubs, "It's tough. You work on this stuff every day in practice, but I guess the pressure has been getting to me early on this season. Of course, that doesn't excuse my performance this season, but I hope this evens out the farther we go along."

For the Pirates, rookie Gregory Polanco was outstanding today, with his RBI double arguably the catalyst for the Bucs' comeback. On the other hand, third baseman Pedro Alvarez does not yet have a hit through the first three games of 2014.

Emilio Bonifacio swung a hot bat for the Cubs today, going 3-for-4 and nearly hitting for the cycle with a single, double, and home run. On the other hand, young outfielder Junior Lake is yet to hit in 2014. Ryan Kalish made his Cubs debut pinch hitting today, but wasn't able to make anything of it.

Both teams will travel back home for their next series, as the Pirates face the Cardinals in a division matchup and the Cubs take on the Phillies in an East-Central showdown. Next, the teams will meet again in the return series from the 8th to the 10th, this time at Wrigley Field.

Andrew Kovalchuk is a sports journalist who covers the NL Central for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ItsAndyK.

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
Apr 3, 2014	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago (1-1)	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	7	1
Pittsburgh (1-1)	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	1	x	5	6	1
W: Rodriguez (1-0) L: Jackson (0-1) S: Grilli (1)

Chicago Cubs
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Bonifacio, RF	5	1	3	2	0	1	1	.400
Barney, 2B	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	.400
Castro, SS	2	1	1	0	2	0	0	.222
Ruggiano, CF	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	.167
Castillo, C	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.111
Rizzo, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	.091
Lake, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Olt, 3B	4	1	1	0	0	1	0	.182
Jackson, P	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Kalish, LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Schierholtz, RF	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.333
TEAM TOTALS	33	3	7	3	4	4	1
BATTING: 2B: Bonifacio (1), Ruggiano (1) HR: Bonifacio (1) RBI: Bonifacio 2 (3), Ruggiano (1) SAC: Jackson
BASERUNNING: SB: Castro (1), Bonifacio (1)
FIELDING: E: Barney (3)

Pittsburgh Pirates
HITTERS	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	HR	AVG
Marte, LF	4	1	0	0	0	1	0	.077
Polanco, RF	4	1	3	2	0	0	0	.500
McCutchen, CF	4	1	1	2	0	1	1	.100
Alvarez, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	1	0	.000
Walker, 2B	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	.333
Martin, C	4	0	1	1	0	2	0	.200
Sanchez, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	.182
Mercer, SS	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.100
Rodriguez, P	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Tabata, LF	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	1.000
s-Barmes, SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
TEAM TOTALS	30	5	6	5	3	8	1
BATTING: 2B: Martin (1), Polanco (1) HR: McCutchen (1) RBI: McCutchen 2 (2), Martin (1), Polanco 2 (4) HBP: Walker GIDP: McCutchen
FIELDING: E: Polanco (1)

Chicago Cubs
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Jackson (L, 0-1)	5.0	5	4	0	2	5	1	0.00
Parker	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	8.10
Villanueva	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Strop	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	0	9.00
TEAM TOTALS	8.0	6	5	1	3	8	1

Pittsburgh Pirates
PITCHERS	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rodriguez (W, 1-0)	5.0	6	3	3	1	0	1	5.40
Hughes (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.00
Watson (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0.00
Melancon (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Grilli (S, 1)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0.00
TEAM TOTALS	9.0	7	3	3	4	4	1
PITCHING: WP: Rodriguez (1)