Pittsburgh Pirates Swept, Dominated by Cubs in 16-6

Trevor Williams came into Sunday’s game hoping to continue what had been a series of solid outings. The bats of the Chicago Cubs had other plans for Williams and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chicago notches a series sweep and another dominant victory over the Buccos 16-6.

The Cubs wasted no time getting their offense going against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With two on and nobody down in the bottom of the 1st, Kris Bryant smashed a three-run home run over the left field wall to put the Cubs up 3-0.

The Pirates would respond in a big way in the top of the third. Erik Gonzalez would get things started with a double, and Trevor Williams would reach on a bunt single in which Anthony Rizzo injured his right ankle trying to field the ball. Rizzo had to be helped off the field as Ian Happ replaced him at first base. The Chicago Tribune reported that x-rays were negative on Rizzo’s ankle and that he will be scheduled for an MRI tomorrow.

Gonzalez scored on an RBI single from Kevin Newman, extending Newman’s hitting streak to ten games and getting the Pirates on the board. Bryan Reynolds followed with an RBI double to cut the deficit to one. A pair of RBI singles from Pablo Reyes and Colin Moran would give Pittsburgh a 5-3 advantage. Unfortunately, the pitching staff would lose that advantage in a hurry.

Another Kris Bryant homer and a Victor Caratini sacrifice fly would tie the game at 5 and end the day for Willaims. The five-run Cubs rally would be capped off by a 3-run triple from Tony Kemp off Michael Feliz, giving Chicago the lead for good and closing the book on Williams. Trevor’s final line saw him go just two and a third innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits. This was the most runs Trevor allowed since July 14th, against these very Cubs at Wrigley Field.

One bright spot for the Buccos here was Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds hit his 36th and 37th doubles today, setting a new club record for a rookie. Hall-of-Famer Paul Waner set the previous record, 35, all the way back in 1926.

More good news here is that the Pirates did manage to scatter 14 hits throughout the day. The problem was they also allowed 19. This is the most amount of hits the pitching staff has given up all of the 2019 season. Castellanos, Schwarber, and Bryant all had three-hit performances for the Cubs. Pablo Reyes had a solid day at the dish, racking up three RBI’s on two hits. Five total Pirates had multi-hit days, but it simply was not enough.

Pittsburgh gets an off-day tomorrow, much needed for the bullpen, before returning home to open up a three game series with the Seattle Mariners. With St. Louis falling to the Brewers, Chicago now closes the NL central gap to two games and remain one game up on Milwaukee for the second NL wild card spot.