Cubs Beat Pirates 3-2 in 10 Innings
Dansby Swanson drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as the Chicago Cubs earned a 3-2 road victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
With automatic runner Ian Happ starting the inning at second base, Pedro Ramirez reached on an infield single. Swanson then lined a single to center field off Yohan Ramirez, allowing Happ to score and giving Chicago a 2-1 advantage.
Seiya Suzuki added an important insurance run later in the inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk.
Caleb Thielbar earned the win after retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning. Gavin Hollowell allowed a run-scoring groundout in the bottom of the 10th before closing out the game for his first save of the season.
Yohan Ramirez took the loss after surrendering two runs on two hits and issuing two walks in one inning.
Pete Crow-Armstrong provided Chicago’s other run with a solo home run and finished with two of the Cubs’ six hits. Chicago has now won four of its past six games.
The Pirates collected several scoring opportunities throughout the game. Henry Davis recorded an RBI single and joined Jake Mangum and Ryan O’Hearn with two hits apiece.
Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the fifth inning. Marcell Ozuna and Brandon Lowe drew consecutive walks against Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, while Jared Triolo followed with an infield single to load the bases.
Ozuna scored when Davis beat out an infield single to second base. Boyd prevented further damage by retiring the next three batters to end the inning.
Chicago responded in the sixth. Crow-Armstrong connected on a 3-1 slider from Jared Jones and sent it over the right-field wall to tie the game at 1-1.
The home run was Crow-Armstrong’s team-leading 22nd of the season and his first since hitting two against the Baltimore Orioles on July 8.
The Cubs also made several key defensive plays.
In the third inning, second baseman Nico Hoerner made a diving stop on a ground ball before throwing behind Davis at third base. Third baseman Alex Bregman moved up the line and applied the tag to end the inning.
Happ preserved the 1-1 tie in the seventh by throwing Davis out at home plate for the final out of the inning.
The Cubs eventually broke through in the 10th and held on despite Pittsburgh scoring once in the bottom half.
