Pittsburgh Pirates split doubleheader with Chicago Cubs

Sep 15, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) exchanges base balls with catcher Chris Stewart (19) against the Chicago Cubs during the seventh inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader but not with out some excitement late in the game. Gerrit Cole gave the Pirates six plus innings of excellent pitching only to see Chicago mount an attack late and tie the game in the eighth. Fortunately the Pirates were able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Mark Melancon closed the game out to earn his 46th save of the season and give the Pirates an even larger lead over the Cubs for the first Wild Card spot heading into the night game of the doubleheader.

The Cubs struck first on Tuesday afternoon, taking the lead when Dexter Flower scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris Coghlan. The Pirates answered in the bottom of the first with three runs thanks to a productive run by the top six in the lineup. After Gregory Polanco walked, Jason Hammel plunked Neil Walker to put two runners on for Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen knocked a single to left to score Polanco and give him his 93rd RBI of the season.

After retiring Jung Ho Kang, Hammel’s problems continued as he walked Pedro Alvarez to load the bases. The recently reacquired Travis Snider slapped a single up the middle to bring in both Walker and McCutchen. Pittsburgh added another run in the fourth inning when Walker blasted a double deep to right to score Cole, who reached base with a single.

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Cole was outstanding for six innings, registering seven strikeouts before the seventh inning. But after Miguel Montero and Starlin Castro reached base, he gave up a run scoring double to Tommy La Stella. Cole, visibly frustrated with how the inning went, was removed in favor of Soria. After getting the first out of his appearance, Soria threw a wild pitch to score Castro. He then walked Fowler before unleashing yet another wild pitch, this time bringing in La Stella to tie the game.

Fortunately the Pirates were able to play small ball in the eighth and get the winning run across the plate. Alvarez drew his second walk of the game and replaced by the speedy Pedro Florimon. Florimon stole second and moved to third on Montero’s throwing error. Pinch hitter Starling Marte hit a sacrifice fly to bring Florimon in and give Melancon the smallest of leads for the ninth. Melancon retired all three batters he faced, including two strikeouts as the Pirates moved their record to 87-56 leading up to the second game of the day.

What Stood Out

Cole as he has done almost every time out this season, pitched another great game for the Pirates. Unfortunately he did not walk away with a win because Soria could not get the job done (probably just as cruel is the fact that both runs that scored due to the wild pitches were charged to him). But he issued no walks and struck out eight, while throwing 73 of his 108 pitches for strikes. This was exactly the type of start the team wanted to see out of him to start a long day of baseball.

Offensively McCutchen continues to roll along, making a serious push for his first 100 RBI season. His chances of winning another MVP Award are probably also rising due to his fantastic play as of late and the fact that a few players who had very good chances of winning the award are playing on teams that are quickly falling, or were never really in, the playoff hunt.

What’s Next

The doubleheader will resume at 7:05pm when J.A. Happ and Jon Lester take the mound for their clubs. Happ, as it has been well documented in these parts, has pitched much better since his first start after joining the Pirates. Lester was the big offseason acquisition for the Cubs and has been averaging more than a strikeout an inning but has also experienced issues this season throwing the ball to first in pick off plays. With the speed at the top of the Pittsburgh lineup, it won’t be surprising to see them try to swipe as many bases as possible.

Next: Jon Lester goes the distance in Cubs' win