Ian Happ injured as Cubs fail to sweep Buccos |
PITTSBURGH — An injury to Ian Happ was the most disheartening aspect of a disheartening defeat suffered by the Chicago Cubs (22-15) at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates (11-24), who swashbuckled their way to a 6-2 victory and avoided being swept at home. Fresh off the paternity list, the Pirates' Bryan Reynolds hit a pivotal three-run blast in the finale of the three-game series at PNC Park. Reynolds' go-ahead home run put the Buccos up 4-2 in the third inning on Thursday, and the Cubs were scoreless the rest of the way. The North Siders went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. As for Happ, he exited the contest after fouling a ball off that proceeded to bounce into his face. Thankfully, X-rays came back negative on Happ, who was diagnosed with a right eye contusion. Inning-by-Inning Breakdown: T1: JT Brubaker started on the mound for the Pirates and worked a scoreless first. b>Score: Cubs 0, Pirates 0 B1: Starter Alec Mills gave up a two-out double to Colin Moran but did not give up any runs in the first. Score: Cubs 0, Pirates 0 T2: Kyle Schwarber singled and made it to second on a wild pitch. Following a walk of Jason Heyward, Victor Caratini plated Schwarber with a base knock. Heyward nearly scored on a double steal, but Caratini was tagged out in the nick of time at second, thereby ending the inning. Score: Cubs 1, Pirates 0 Vic is 8-for-23 with RISP this season. pic.twitter.com/fJLbhqOuEv B2: In his first plate appearance since being activated off the paternity list earlier in the day, Reynolds started the bottom of the second with a double off the wall in right-center. Mills was able to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard, though. Score: Cubs 1, Pirates 0 T3: A leadoff single by Jason Kipnis was followed by a double from Happ. Third baseman JT Riddle next committed a throwing error after fielding a ball hit by Kris Bryant, enabling Kipnis to score. Brubaker then drew a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the inning. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 0 B3: Mills came undone in the third, giving up four runs on four hits. John Ryan Murphy led off with a double, and Cole Tucker followed that with a single. Murphy then came home on a sacrifice fly hit by Erik Gonzalez, which Happ caught in center field with a fantastic diving snag. Followed by a single from Gregory Polanco, Reynolds hit his aforementioned three-run dinger. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 4 Getting it done with the bat & the glove ?? pic.twitter.com/KAVOipLMa4 Reese's dad hits dingers.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/9tmDumymrK T4: Willson Contreras was caught stealing after a leadoff single. Caratini and Jason Kipnis each singled before Happ's at-bat in which he was injured. A foul ball bounced off the dirt and back at Happ, making contact near his eye socket. Cameron Maybin finished Happ's at-bat and grounded out, leaving two runners stranded. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 4 Ian Happ exits after a fluke foul ball bounced and hits him near in the right eye in the 4th. Was up and walking around after a moment on the ground. Stay tuned for an update from the Cubs. pic.twitter.com/4vi93J2MZu B4: Mills composed himself in a scoreless fourth. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 4 T5: Brubaker forced three groundouts in the top of the fifth. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 4 B5: A two-out single by Polanco was all that the Pirates mustered in the bottom of the fifth. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 4 T6: The Cubs loaded the bases with one out but failed to cut into their deficit. A single by Schwarber, a double by Heyward and a walk of Jose Martinez filled the bases. However, Kipnis struck out, and Maybin flied out to leave all three deserted. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 4 B6: Jason Adam gave up a pair of runs in the sixth, thanks in large part to his throwing error, which spoiled a potential double play. Adam Frazier drew a leadoff walk before Anthony Alford hit a chopper back to Adam, whose throw to second base was well off the mark. Eventually, Tucker smacked a two-run single with two outs. Reliever Kyle Ryan finished the inning after replacing Adam. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 6 Jason Adam’s throw to second, just a bit outside pic.twitter.com/IxazQ9ujRo Tucker Insurance™#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/5TvSPfP8Qp T7: Javier Baez grounded into an inning-ending 4-3 double play after Anthony Rizzo singled. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 6 B7: Frazier doubled off Duane Underwood Jr. with one out but was not brought home. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 6 T8: Schwarber's leadoff walk was followed by a 6-4-3 double play that Contreras grounded into. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 6 B8: Craig Kimbrel tossed a 1-2-3 eighth. Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 6 T9: Maybin reached as a result of a throwing error by Gonzalez. After Maybin took second because of fielder's indifference, Bryant struck out looking to end the game. Mills fell to 3-3 with the loss, and Brubaker became 1-0 via his first career win. Pirates relievers Sam Howard and Geoff Hartlieb earned their third and fourth holds, respectively. The Cubs took two of three from the Bucs in the series and went 5-5 on their 10-game road trip. Final Score: Cubs 2, Pirates 6 Congrats to @ItsJTBrubaker on his first Major League win! ??#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/ZaLtjnqM8H Statistical Breakdown: Chicago Cubs: Batting: 2 R, 10 H, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 2-Out RBI, 2 GIDP, 1-9 RISP, 9 LOB; Baserunning: 2 CS; Fielding: 1 E; Pitching: 10 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP Pittsburgh Pirates: Batting: 6 R, 10 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 2-Out RBI, 1 SF, 3-12 RISP, 8 LOB; Baserunning: 1 SB; Fielding: 2 E, 2 DP; Pitching: 10 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 1 WP Studs of the Game: Chicago Cubs: Victor Caratini (DH): 2-2, 0 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 2-Out RBI, 1-1 RISP, 1 offensive CS Pittsburgh Pirates: Bryan Reynolds (LF): 2-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 2-Out RBI, 1-1 RISP Duds of the Game: Chicago Cubs: Jason Adam (RP): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP, 1 E; Kris Bryant (3B): 0-5, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-2 RISP Pittsburgh Pirates: Anthony Alford (CF): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K, 0-2 RISP Up Next: The Cubs will return home for their second five-game series versus the St. Louis Cardinals (14-14) this season. The five-gamer at Wrigley Field contains a doubleheader. Friday, Sept. 4, will see a battle of right-handed aces in the series opener, as the Cubs' Yu Darvish (6-1, 1.47) and the Cardinals' Jack Flaherty (2-0, 1.93) are slated to start. On a clear evening in Chicago, the contest will begin at 7:15 p.m. CDT. Highlights: #Cubs fall to the Pirates in the road trip finale.
9/3: CHC vs PIT
