Tauchman delivers as Cubs blank Pirates |
PITTSBURGH - It is amazing what one hot streak can do for a team. Coming off a 5-1 homestand, the Chicago Cubs (34-38) have put themselves within .5 games of the third-place Pittsburgh Pirates (34-37) as they have now won eight of their last 10 games. Four of those wins have come against the Pirates, who have lost seven straight after coming to Wrigley Field last week.
When it comes to a pitcher having a team's number at a ballpark, Drew Smyly has dominated in his career at PNC Park, as he is now 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA at Pittsburgh. Although he didn't have his best stuff, Smyly found ways to pitch out of trouble as he worked out of two bases-loaded James to give the Cubs five shutout innings in what was an 8-0 win for the Cubs. Smyly is 7-3 on the season and continues to deliver consistent performances every team he takes the ball. Facing off against Smyly was Osvaldo Bido, who was seeing the Cubs for the second time in a week. Like in his last start, Bido was excellent, striking out seven in six innings while allowing three runs. That is considered a quality start, but when your offense gives you no offensive support, starts like that go to waste as the Pirates bullpen imploded again. Mike Tauchman had a night to remember at the plate as he continues to deliver daily. Not only did he lead the game off with a single, but he had three hits on the night and would rank in the top five in batting average if he had enough plate appearances. After Cody Bellinger and Yan Gomes picked up singles in the second, Miles Mastrobuoni worked a walk to load the bases and brought the white-hot Tauchman to the plate. Known for giving the Cubs professional at-bats, this was no different as Tauchman came through with an RBI single to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Tauchman knocks in two! pic.twitter.com/Sk9OcxfIZk That would be all the offense they would need, but Nico Hoerner added to that lead with another RBI single as the Cubs were off and running again, 3-0. .@nico_hoerner now leads the Cubs in RBI with 34!#VoteCubs | https://t.co/iq0lKgpeWQ pic.twitter.com/koWsOdQVPF With Smyly cruising through two innings, things began to come undone in the third, with the rookie Henry Davis leading things off with a double for his first career hit and setting the Pirate's offense up. That double was followed by two outs walks by Andrew McCutchen and Bryan Reynolds as the Pirates had the bases loaded with a chance to make things interesting. Smyly bounced back despite Connor Joe making hard contact as his lineout ended the inning with the Cubs still in front 3-0. With the Cubs offense going quiet after that second inning, the Pirates had another excellent opportunity to score in the fifth as a pair of walks, and the McCutchen single loaded the bases again, only to see Smyly wiggle out of trouble to cap off his outing. Drew Smyly has a 1.74 ERA over his last 7 road starts! pic.twitter.com/HeLxkBG7ma With Smyly out of the game, it was time for David Ross to go to his pen, and Michael Fulmer was the first out as he continued his recent run of success with another scoreless frame. Going on four innings without scoring a run, the Cubs offense wanted to provide some insurance runs for their bullpen, which came off of Ryan Borucki in the seventh. The former Chicago Cub, who spent a few days on the MLB roster this season, was roughed up as Nick Madrigal led things off with a single before stealing second base. His single was replicated by Tauchman's third single of the night as he extended the Cubs lead to 4-0 with his third RBI. Tauchman's third hit and third RBI on the night! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NJmFs7jIfU Still standing on second and with two outs, Ian Happ was intentionally walked to get to Dansby Swanson, who promptly delivered another RBI hit to push the Cubs lead to 5-0. Everyday he's hustlin'#VoteCubs | https://t.co/iq0lKgpeWQ pic.twitter.com/9DyiagfNLp That has been the theme during their recent offensive surge, as the Cubs have been willing to scratch the power for a string of hits, and it is working in their favor right now. Another bullpen arm who has gotten into an excellent role is Julian Merryweather, and despite allowing hits to Josh Palacious and Reynolds was able to put up another zero to keep the shutout bid intact. As if two runs off the Pirates pen weren't enough, why not go for more as the Cub's offense continued to do their job in the eighth? A one-out walk from Gomes kept the line moving, with Madrigal getting hit by a pitch shortly after. That again brought Tauchman to the plate, who managed to reach base on a fielder's choice. That same play also saw the Cubs add their sixth run of the game as a costly throwing aid for Gomes to cross home to extend the lead to 6-0. The top of the Cubs order continued to make life miserable for the Pirates, with Hoerner following that error with an RBI ground out before the Seiya Suzuki double capped off the three-run eighth with the Cubs in front 8-0. Seiya gets in on the action!#VoteCubs | https://t.co/iq0lKgpeWQ pic.twitter.com/pNkVdQZWNa From there, it was Michael Rucker taking the ball, which worked a six up and six down eighth and ninth innings as the Cubs continued to roll with an 8-0 win. Tauchman paced the offense with three hits and three RBIs, with Swanson adding two hits. Hoerner also delivered two RBIs as the top of the Cubs order drove in six of the eight runs. These two teams will meet again Tuesday night when Marcus Stroman takes the mound against Johan Oviedo.
